Scots holidaymaker frustration at Dover port queues

Travellers faced waits of up to six hours at the Port of Dover

A Scot caught up in hours-long delays at the port of Dover has described the situation he faced as "pure carnage".

Glasgow-based actor Dave Allan was among hundreds of people who faced waits of up to six hours to board ferries on Friday morning.

Officials declared a "critical incident", with tourists urged to consider staying away.

The Port of Dover blamed French authorities, citing "woefully inadequate" border control staffing.

Mr Allan and his German partner Anna are travelling from Glasgow to Germany in their self-built camper and had planned a "mini-road trip" on the way.

Dave Allan and partner Anna queued for around four hours in their camper

They arrived in Dover on Thursday night in advance of their Friday morning sailing.

"We were staying literally a five-minute walk from the port," Mr Allan told the BBC.

"We had a bunch of texts from the travel provider saying arrive early to get through. So we thought no problem we are staying five minutes away, [it] will be easy.

"We still woke up about 5am and the queue was already snaking through Dover town centre. So we got ready and joined it about 05:45 and honestly we were starting and stopping for around four hours."

Mr Allan, whose acting work includes Scottish comedy Burnistoun, described the scene as "pure carnage" as frustrated passengers waited to get through passport controls.

'Immensely frustrating'

The Port of Dover said it had been "let down" by poor resourcing at the French border. It described the situation as "immensely frustrating" at one of the busiest times of the year for foreign travel as most schools in England and Wales break up for summer.

Local MP Natalie Elphicke claimed French border officers "didn't turn up for work".

The Port of Dover blamed French officials for hours-long delays

Travel expert Simon Calder told Sky News: "Since Brexit, everybody has to have their passport, not just looked at, but properly stamped. That's something that we insisted on when we left the EU.

"That takes far longer than the previous checks when people typically just waved their passport at the guards and they were waved through."

He said the Port of Dover had increased its facilities for journeys to France by 50% but that it had not been enough to prevent delays.

The port's chief executive, Doug Bannister, stopped short of guaranteeing the backlog would clear in the coming days. He told the BBC: "We're putting all the attention we possibly can do on ensuring there will be enough resources in place to manage this very busy first weekend of the summer."