Covid-19: Charities send food to stranded truckers

Teams of volunteers have delivered hundreds of meals to lorry drivers stranded in Kent.

Members of Maidenhead's KhalsaAid travelled 80 miles (130km) to take food to drivers hit by the travel ban between the UK and France.

On Tuesday, some of the Sikh charity's LangarAid members travelled almost double the distance, from Coventry, to take water and food.

KhalsaAid founder Ravi Singh said: "Everyone's working together."

Rail, air and sea services between the two countries have resumed after France eased its travel ban.

French citizens, British nationals living in France and hauliers are among those now able to travel - if they have a recent negative test.

But the delays will take some time to clear, with drivers remaining in need of help from the armies of volunteers.

Some European nationals living in England have come to the aid of their compatriots who are stranded in Kent.

Members of a Facebook page for Hungarians in the UK helped to organise food donations.

Ivett Hidvegi said drivers were "in a really bad situation" with limited access to food and toilets.

Volunteers were prevented from delivering food at Manston Airport on Tuesday, so handed donations to drivers on the roadside, she said.

Sikhs from Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Gravesend, Kent, helped cook the meals before volunteers were given a police escort along the M20 to deliver them.

Mr Singh added: "It's horrible for [the drivers], there's nothing here - no food, no shops - it's like a prison for them. We can't sit back and do nothing."

The Salvation Army has also provided 1,000 packs of sandwiches for lorry drivers on the M20.

Capt Marion Rouffet said: "We worked from 8:30 last night until midnight, and the sandwiches were stored by the pub next door.

"The shop owner next door offered anything we need, and Pret A Manger gave us lots of sandwich fillings.

"People will always rally when necessary."

Elsewhere, Ramsgate Football Club delivered 200 pizzas to stranded drivers.

"We are a community club and we want anyone in the community or who passes through to know we will always look after them," chairman James Lawson said.

"We gave pizzas to the lorry drivers as they were driving into Manston Airport. We have a pizza kitchen and we can't play football at the moment, so we had a lot of stock which was starting to go out of date, so it seemed a perfect opportunity to help out.

"It was a lot of work over a few hours," he said.

Ashford International Truckstop said it was providing 1,000 food bags, prepared by staff who had volunteered to work at its sister hotel in Hythe and pub in Alkham.

Toby Howe, senior highways managers at Kent County Council, said: "For those on the M20 there have been facilities - toilets have been provided - and we've had really good support from communities around the place to provide food.

"We're really appreciative of those who have brought food.

"There's been a lot of positives from this - people coming together to give support."

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