Lengthy delays at Eurotunnel LeShuttle

Passengers travelling to Europe on Eurotunnel LeShuttle were earlier warned of delays at the UK terminal.

There were check-in delays of 90 minutes in Folkestone, a further 30-minute delay at border control, and departure delays of an hour following a "technical issue" on Saturday morning.

A travel update on LeShuttle's website had said the A20 Beachborough entrance to the terminal was also closed and passengers were advised to travel to check-in via the M20, at Junction 11A.

Eurotunnel apologised for the "extended wait", but delays appeared to have cleared by the late afternoon.

Off-duty BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford was at the Folkestone terminal on Saturday morning, trying to get away on holiday.

He said: "It has been absolute chaos.

"It seemed normal until about 06:30 BST and then suddenly it wasn't normal. It was clear the French passport system is not working.

"It took us a couple of hours to get from the terminal to the passport gates, rather than 10 mins."

He said staff in the Folkestone terminal say the delays are due to a new passport system introduced by France.

Joyce Maguire, who travelled to Folkestone from the Lake District on Friday night, had been hoping to be in the Loire Valley, in France, by lunchtime on Saturday.

She said: "I'm hoping to make it by the evening now.

"We stayed in a local hotel and got up early so we can get on our way as we are moving house.

"The traffic isn't moving and there is no information on the display boards. People seem to be chilling out and are taking time to stand outside their cars."

People can only travel to the terminal with advanced bookings as tickets are unavailable to purchase at check-in.

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