Dover cross-Channel ferry disruption continues

Freight vehicles are still parked on the M20 and A20 around Dover, after three days of disruption for traffic crossing the English Channel.

Ferry capacity is reduced because of the suspension of P&O services and DFDS having two vessels out of action.

Eurotunnel had delays after a train broke down.

But the train has since been moved from the tunnel, and the company said it hopes to have its backlog cleared by the end of the afternoon.

At 14:30 BST, Eurotunnel said ticket sales had been suspended. It reported a delay of about four hours at Folkestone but asked customers to check in as planned.

The disruption in Kent began on Friday night and worsened over the weekend.

Authorities implemented Operation Brock, which sees freight lorries held on the M20 until sailings become available.

Lorry driver Shane Southward spent the weekend in the port after returning to the UK from Germany on Friday.

He told BBC Radio Kent: "When we came off the boat Dover was just gridlocked. It took us an hour to get off the boat and to the customs building.

"We got penned in for the weekend and we've left this morning with a parking bill of £126.

"On the way out of the port this morning we've seen 1,000 lorries parked up at the holding stations. It's pretty chaotic out there at the moment," he added.

On his journey up the M20 towards London he described passing 1,000 more lorries queueing for ferries and Eurotunnel trains, with nearly 500 heading coastbound to join the line.

Lorries waiting to be called onto sailings are held on roads near Aycliffe on the outskirts of Dover.

One resident, Michael, said the noise has made it impossible for him to sleep.

He said: "If one jumped the queue they'd beep their hooters all the way along, and all the way back when the police send him back, and it went on all night. They'd stop, you'd fall asleep, and then they'd start up again."

Michael said the disruption also meant buses could not run at the weekend, effectively trapping him in his home.

"The only way out was to walk" he said.

"For some of us that's impossible. I'm nearly 80, with arthritis, and the walk down is impossible.

"I've been up here 16 years and it's been the worst I've known it."

Piers Hopkirk, BBC South East

Travel problems on the M20, A20 and the ferries have a massive impact on Dover.

The town really is a pinch point. So when things go wrong on the roads or ferries, they really feel it here.

Earlier I spoke to a woman who told me that on Saturday the town was in total gridlock. She said a journey that ordinarily took her four minutes, took her two hours.

However, it appears the travel picture is slowly improving.

The gridlock around the town has been having a severe impact on local businesses.

Leanne Eastwell, co-owner of the Urban Calm beauty salon, told the BBC: "You can't get in or out of Dover. We lost all our profits for Saturday - we had cancellations all day. Our clients couldn't get into town. It's really bad."

Gale Dixon, company secretary at Action Carpets, said she had to tell the woman who normally opened her store to turn around and go home on Saturday after she had been stuck in traffic for an hour.

"So the shop didn't open. I have lost customers," she said.

The manager of a Dover based car hire firm told the BBC: "We couldn't get in or out over the last couple of days.

"It's got us all behind now and it's playing catch up with all our deliveries, we'll just have to let the customers know and hope they understand."

Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said it was "absolutely unacceptable" that people "can't get out and about".

"There is a Keep Dover Clear strategy in place, and I've been working hard with ministers and the Kent Resilience Forum to make sure that they put those actions in place and try to keep traffic moving."

There is also disruption for air travellers, with EasyJet cancelling 100 flights because of high Covid levels among staff.

Travel expert Simon Calder said non-freight ferry passengers should consider using Newhaven instead of Dover.

He said: "There are ferries from there to Dieppe, and talking to people who've been on those ferries, they say they're half-empty."

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].