Foreign Office says holiday makers may need to find alternative route from Europe

An official warning about the perils of travelling through Calais was issued to British holidaymakers yesterday after militant French workers caused fresh chaos – firing distress fares at a ferry.

After weeks of disruption to Eurotunnel and ferry services, the new Government notice warned that anyone intending to travel home via the French port may have to find another route back instead.

Anyone who had to travel through the French port was told to keep their vehicle doors locked because of the ‘large number of illegal migrants’ trying to reach the UK.

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British holidaymakers planning to return to the UK from Europe may have to find alternative routes from Calais as ferry and farmer protests continue to wreak havoc in France. Above: French workers set fire to tyres in Calais

The Foreign Office said holidaymakers may have to find alternative routes from Calais with the ongoing disruption in France worsened by militant French workers firing distress flares at a ferry and protests over food prices. Pictured: Farmers burn tyres in front of a dairy factory of the Lactalis Group in Laval, northwestern France

After weeks of disruption to Eurotunnel and ferry services, Home Secretary Theresa May will today hold talks with her French counterparts amid fears the chaos at Calais will escalate over the busy school holidays.

Ministers – under mounting pressure to demand firmer action from the French – are seeking ways to protect travellers from illegal immigrants massed at the port.

Yesterday, scores of families travelling with the ferry company DFDS Seaways had their journey to Calais re-routed to Dunkirk, almost 30 miles away.

DFDS said that because of safety concerns for passengers and staff, it was not willing to sail from Calais. This followed an alarming incident in which a distress flare hit one of the company’s vessels.

It is the latest trouble caused by striking French ferry workers at the Eurotunnel terminal, which has seen Channel Tunnel services suspended. Motorists have faced long queues, as well as the threat of migrants trying to clamber into their vehicles.

Meanwhile, on the British side, drivers in Kent have faced gridlock on the roads because of Operation Stack on the M20, where police effectively turn the motorway into a lorry park.

Farmers angry over low prices set up checkpoints on six roads between Germany and France late on Sunday night and turned back hundreds of trucks looking for cargos of foreign meat and milk products in protest

Farmers set tyres ablaze in front of a dairy factory of the Lactalis Group in Laval, northwestern France, during a demonstration against falling food prices today as part of a week-long series of actions across the country

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES? TRY DUNKIRK OR DIEPPE British drivers worried about the chaos at Calais have been advised to look for other ways to get back to the UK. The nearest alternative ferries leave from Dunkirk, which is 30 miles away. It takes two hours to cross from there to Dover. The Government suggests there are, among others, also Dieppe (109 miles from Calais), from where a four-hour ferry crossing takes you to Newhaven; Le Havre (170 miles), from where an 8hr 15min crossing takes you to Portsmouth; Rotterdam (190 miles), from where a three-hour crossing takes you to Hull; or the Hook of Holland (206 miles from Calais), from where a 7hr 15min crossing takes you to Harwich. But the advice adds: ‘Not every ferry that departs from these ports completes its journey in that time. For example, overnight ferries are deliberately longer. Not all routes have a daily service.’ Advertisement

It has been shut coast-bound at least 20 times over the past three months as lorries queued.

The new Foreign Office travel warning, issued yesterday morning, instructed anybody travelling to France to check with their operator to make sure the crossing was still going ahead.

And it warned those intending to travel home via the port that they may need to find an alternative route.

It said: ‘There is an ongoing possibility of disruption to cross-Channel services as a result of industrial action and migrant activity in and around Calais. Check online with your chosen operator and plan your journey to avoid disruption.

'If you are in returning to the UK from abroad and you have a booking, check online with your operator for more information. You may also wish to consider alternative routes for returning to the UK.’

The warning added: ‘There are large numbers of illegal migrants in and around Calais, who may seek to enter the UK illegally.

‘You should keep vehicle doors locked in slow-moving traffic and secure your vehicle when it is left unattended.’

French President Francois Hollande today threw his support behind protesting French farmers just hours after they staged a blockade that prevented hundreds of lorries from importing food from Germany (pictured)

Police in France tend to avoid intervening in protests and the French President said he backed the farmers before calling for a high-level meeting of European agricultural officials. Pictured: Disruption in Laval, France

The Foreign Office said details of alternative routes for holidaymakers returning to the UK were now being provided due to the 'risk of disruption' in Calais after a ferry was targeted with flares over the weekend

CALAIS IN CHAOS AFTER FLARES ARE FIRED AT FERRY Calais was plunged into further chaos today after distress flares were fired at a ferry – leading to the suspension of services. Militant French trade unionists are thought to have been behind the attack on the DFDS Seaways vessel, the Malo Seaways, at the weekend. With 10 crossings a day between Dover and Calais cancelled, those passing through the port can expect further travel misery. Delays of up to five hours were reported on Saturday as thousands of illegal migrants camped out in northern France took advantage of the gridlock to try and get aboard lorries heading to the UK. A spokesman for the Danish company DFDS said crossings will be suspended until tomorrow at the earliest 'due to continued disruption.' In the meantime, all sea traffic will be diverted to Dunkirk. DFDS is currently involved in bitter industrial dispute with militant workers from the French company, MyFerryLink, over job cuts. Advertisement

Yesterday, Tory MEP Timothy Kirkhope said the situation of passengers being transferred to Dunkirk was ‘ridiculous’.

The former immigration minister said pressure must be placed on France and Italy to fulfil their EU obligations to deal with the migrants, who are supposed to claim asylum in the first EU country they enter.

Mr Kirkhope said that, at present, the two countries were ushering the would-be illegal immigrants towards Calais and the UK.

He has written to European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans, urging him to act, and told the Mail: ‘This is a problem that is going to go on for years. That is why we need to enforce the law as it is. If the commission is not prepared to do that, just what is the point of it?’

Last night a DFDS source confirmed that a distress flare launched by a militant striker hit the ferry Malo Seaways.

He said: ‘There were only crew on board at the time. They were preparing for the embarkation of vehicles for the next sailing. No one was injured, but potentially it could have caused damage.

‘It was launched from a group of strikers located in Calais port. We don’t know if the culprit has been apprehended.’

At Calais ferry terminal yesterday, a sign at the DFDS office read: ‘DFDS Seaways regret to advise our Dover-Calais-Dover services are currently suspended due to industrial action at the Port of Calais. In the meantime we are continuing to operate our Dover-Dunkirk-Dover services with an additional, fourth vessel to assist our customers.’

A DFDS spokesman last night said the Calais-Dover ferry service would resume today.

Mrs May will hold talks with a French government delegation in London later today.

French farmers use tractors to block a highway near Laval during a demonstration against the market prices of their product in Soulge-sur-Ouette. Francois Hollande today threw his support behind the demonstrators

The farmers are protesting the loss of financial returns, primarily with their beef, pork and diary products

The latest action comes after a week that has seen farmers block cities, roads and tourist sites across France in protest at falling food prices, which they blame on foreign competition. Above: Lorries block a road in Laval