Covid-19: Drivers urged to avoid ports as France shuts border

Lorry drivers have been urged not to travel to ports in Kent, East Sussex and Hampshire after France closed its border with the UK for 48 hours.

In a bid to ease congestion towards Dover, Operation Stack has been activated on the coast-bound M20.

Passenger ferries and lorry freight bound for France have been suspended from Dover, Portsmouth and Newhaven.

However, speaking to BBC Radio 4, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said goods were still moving.

"Most of freight is not accompanied and that can still flow, of course," he said.

Inbound freight is also coming into Dover on Monday, the port said.

John Keefe, from Eurotunnel, said all travel from the UK to France had been suspended but it was still open for travel and goods coming in the other direction.

Operation Brock, which uses a concrete barrier system, will be put in place overnight to replace Operation Stack, Highways England confirmed.

A decision whether UK travellers will face the same set of restrictions no matter where they travel to in the EU is expected on Tuesday, the BBC understands.

Currently there is a hotchpotch of travel restrictions in place, with different rules in 17 European countries.

Meetings in Brussels between health officials and the EU's crisis response team will try to co-ordinate a single set of restrictions.

One French official told BBC Europe correspondent Gavin Lee they were "desperate" to reopen the borders "as soon as safely possible", with one option being allowing people who have had a negative test within the previous 24 hours to travel.

Late on Sunday night, Mr Shapps asked the public and hauliers not to travel to ports in Kent or other routes to France.

He said he was working urgently with his department "to minimise traffic disruption in the area".

In Portsmouth, Brittany Ferries said it was unable to carry passengers and accompanied freight (being transported by a driver) to Caen as expected.

It said the border closure would affect about 1,000 passengers and 400 freight vehicles planning to travel to France on Monday and Tuesday.

However, the Hampshire port said services to and from Spain and the Channel Islands were operating as normal.

Live: Dover traffic halted due to new Covid strain

Former BBC reporter Carole Madge boarded a ferry late on Sunday to travel to France with her family.

She said: "We were really excited. But sadly, once we got onboard and into our cabin, the announcement came out that we wouldn't be going anywhere.

"We had to stay on the ship overnight and they turfed us all off this morning."

Sailings from Newhaven Port for accompanied freight and tourist traffic have also been suspended but are continuing for unaccompanied freight trailers.

The Sussex Resilience Forum said the port had not reported any congestion, and traffic on roads in Sussex was at normal levels.

Stack is an emergency measure designed to prevent gridlock in Kent. Police work with Highways England and the county council to put it in place.

Freight is separated into two queues on either side of the coast-bound carriageway between junctions 8 and 9.

One lane is used for traffic heading to the Eurotunnel terminal and one lane is for port traffic. The middle lanes are kept clear for emergency vehicles.

Non-freight traffic is diverted off the motorway and on to the A20.

Stack is an "initial measure", according to Highways England, while Brock is more permanent.

Operation Brock, which was recently tested ahead of Brexit, is to be installed on the M20, between 20:00 GMT and 08:00 on Tuesday.

The motorway barrier system creates a contraflow on the M20 London-bound, between junctions nine and eight.

It means more of the road network can stay open and will remain in place until further notice.

The freight currently being held by Stack - about 170 lorries - will be moved to Manston airport.

About 10,000 lorries a day travel between Dover and Calais during peak periods such as Christmas.

But the decision by France to close its borders means no accompanied freight can leave and long queues are expected.

The leader of Kent County Council, Roger Gough, said: "National government has urged vehicles not to come to Kent because we are anticipating some 17,000 vehicles coming into the county to make the crossing over the next couple of days."

Manston Airport in Kent is being prepared to take up to 4,000 lorries, the Department for Transport has confirmed.

Lorry driver Rick Mayo, who is stuck at Medway Services, told the BBC he thought the situation was "ridiculous".

He said: "Truck drivers don't come into contact with people; we're in the truck on our own, we self-isolate for three or four days at a time.

"Then, when we do [come into contact with other people], it's limited with masks and with gloves on."

Sainsbury's has warned it could face shortages of some fresh food supplies within days if the situation is not resolved.

But a spokesman said all of its Christmas lunch products were "already in the country" and it was "looking into alternative transport for products sourced from Europe".

Mr Shapps said: "The shops are well stocked. In the short term this is not an issue in terms of supply but we are very keen to get it resolved."

Alex Veitch from Logistics UK, whose members transport goods in and out of the UK, said: "Freight moves in a variety of ways to and from this country and that's why we're reassuring people there's no need to panic buy.

"We are confident retailers will be able to stock their shelves."

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