Port of Dover queues latest as travellers face long delays

The Port of Dover said on Saturday morning it was "deeply frustrated" that coach traffic was suffering "significant delays". A reported 70 coaches were waiting to be processed at the port on Saturday morning as it declared a critical incident.

Operators have said that "challenging weather conditions" were a factor but coaches specifically were taking longer due to "lengthy French border processes and sheer volume". Since the UK left the EU it has become significantly more complicated to travel between the island of Britain and the continent.

In a statement the Port of Dover said: "The Port of Dover is deeply frustrated by last night's and this morning's situation and particularly so on behalf of all the ferry operators' coach passengers who have had to endure such a long wait at the port. Whilst freight and car traffic was processed steadily regardless of the additional challenging weather conditions and high seasonal volumes coach traffic suffered significant delays due to lengthy French border processes and sheer volume.

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"Despite considerable pre-planning with our ferry operators, border agency partners, and the Kent Resilience Forum, and the success of similar plans for processing substantial numbers of coaches during the most recent half term period, the additional coach bookings taken by ferry operators for Easter has impacted operations for the port."

Some apparent travellers have claimed they have been on the same spot for hours and say they haven't been offered any food or water.

The port said in a statement that refreshment had been offered to coach passengers caught in border queues and offered their "sincere