The summer holiday getaway was not supposed to begin in gridlock!
ADVERTISEMENTThe summer holiday getaway was not supposed to begin in gridlock!
But delays at the English port of Dover have left tourists and truck drivers going nowhere – stuck for up to 15 hours
as they line up to check in for ferries heading to France.
Increased security checks at understaffed French border posts, lack of foresight by British authorities and the sheer numbers on the road are being blamed for delays that saw some forced to sleep behind the wheel on Saturday night in monster traffic jams.
“I have lost all sense of time and motion today,” said one stranded motorist.
“Well, with three kids in the back you can imagine… We have still got little ones that need the toilet,” a woman said.
“I think the English, whatever they do, they never have a plan (as to) what to do. Don’t talk about the Brexit!” said a non-British woman, stuck in the traffic.
But some frustrated motorists are talking about Brexit, claiming the chaos is ‘payback time’ for Britain voting to leave the European Union!
That is a suggestion dismissed by Patrick McLoughlin, Chairman of Britain’s ruling Conservative Party.
Queues at #Dover is not "a punishment" by the French because of Brexit, says @Patrick4Dales#marrhttps://t.co/kXovNKoKv1
— The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) 24 juillet 2016
And Brexit is certainly not the official explanation either, from the French side.
France is tightening up security in the wake of the Bastille Day terror attacks in Nice.
UK officials have now been sent in to help French colleagues clear the backlog and cut waiting times.