Kent Police warned Saturday that some motorists face delays of eight hours before arriving at the port. Police distributed water to some of the people who had been stuck in their cars for hours.
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People were stuck overnight and others have been stranded for hours in tailbacks on Saturday as they made their way towards the Channel at the beginning of the summer holidays.
In a statement on its website, Highways England said: “French border police at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel continue to follow French government requirements to deliver heightened security checks”.
Motorists are advised to take plenty of food and water and to check with travel operators before making their trips.
Five hours’ worth of delays have been reported on the A2, four on the M20 and three on the M2 – but only 40 minutes’ worth once drivers get into the holding area of the port itself.
He said: ” The Port of Dover, which has no authority over French border operations, raised concerns over French manning levels with the UK Government earlier this week and the Government, in turn, raised the issue with its French counterparts.
Drivers are now facing more than five hours of delays on the roads heading towards Dover.
He said the situation was “completely unacceptable” and should have been predicted, adding the people who are stuck should be given an apology.
Those stuck in the queues described the situation as “tragic” and said people had been given little information.
Many people have stepped out of their cars and children are playing football to entertain themselves, said Sonia Tutt who is travelling as part of a convoy headed to Luhmuhlen in Germany.
One Yorkshire traveller, Emily Knaggs, 30, from Rothwell, Leeds, told The Yorkshire Post she and her friend Amy Roberts had taken an hour to travel a mile on the approach to Dover.
“We are hanging in there”. It’s nothing to do with Brexit.
‘There are no real frustrations, the real problem was no one knew what was going on – were not quite sure why we were being held there – wasn’t sure whether it was an accident or something had happened further down in the port, ‘ he said.
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The police helicopter has been collecting the water from a Coastguard base in Langdon, near Dover, and transporting it to assist in providing it to queuing motorists.
