Despite partially lifting the blockade, French strikers boast they can shut ferry and Eurostar crossings 'at will'

They hope to board ferries bound for Calais in France, but unions are allowing just one crossing at a time


Militant French unions have vowed to continue their blockade of Calais 'at will' as lorry drivers and holidaymakers continue to suffer massive delays on both sides of the Channel.

The blockade was partially lifted last night but unions were still restricting the service to just one ferry crossing at a time earlier today - causing huge tailbacks at both the French port and on Kent's M20 motorway.

By tonight it was announced that the Port of Calais was now operating two berths enabling P&O Ferries to run a full service to Calais. DFDS Seaways was running a full service to Dunkirk, with an additional ship diverted to the route to help accommodate heavy traffic.

There were an estimated 8,000 lorries stuck in unprecedented 23-mile queues on the M20, with vehicles stationary for such long periods of time that drivers were seen stretching their legs, having conversations standing on the tarmac and even sleeping and enjoying cups of tea.

On the French side of the Channel, illegal migrants are still trying to take advantage of the chaos to sneak onto stationary lorries. There are also reports of terrified holidaymakers being threatened by gangs of migrants demanding to be allowed to hide in cars before they are loaded onto ferries.

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Jammed: The blockade was partially lifted last night but unions are still restricting the service to just one ferry crossing at a time - causing huge tailbacks at both the French port and on Kent's M20 motorway (pictured)

A man holds up a scarf emblazoned with the word 'Romania' as lorries continue to be parked on the M20 near Ashford this afternoon

Clogged: Around 8,000 truckers are stuck on a 23-mile stretch of the M20 in Kent which has been closed due to the French ferry strike

On the French side of the Channel (pictured) illegal migrants are still trying to take advantage of the chaos to sneak onto stationary lorries

Holidaymakers try to sleep as they wait to board Eurostar trains at St Pancras international train station terminal in London this afternoon

Thousands of lorry drivers are parked on the M20 in Kent for a fourth day as the partial closure of the Port of Calais has crippled Channel crossings.

Migrants camped near the French port have been taking advantage of slow-moving and queuing traffic by trying to board UK-bound vehicles.

Port of Dover officials said this morning they had no idea when the industrial action - the second strike by ferry workers in a week - would end.

There have been calls from the UK's Road Haulage Association for the military to be deployed to break the strike as livelihoods and lives were at risk.

Its chief executive Richard Burnett said it was 'absolute mayhem', adding: 'The time for talking around the table has passed.

'The UK and French governments must acknowledge their responsibilities to all Port of Calais users, move in and act. If this means deployment of the armed forces then so be it.

'Let's get this desperate mess sorted out now and talk about a long-term solution afterwards. The scale of the current situation has to be seen to be believed.

'The only word to describe what is happening there is absolute mayhem.'

Thousands of lorry drivers are parked on the M20 in Kent for a fourth day as the partial closure of the Port of Calais cripples Channel crossings

Going nowhere: There have been calls from the UK's Road Haulage Association for the military to be deployed to break the strike

Taking it easy: Truck drivers from Slovenia and Latvia share cigarettes as they queue on the M20 this afternoon

Stopped: Police delivered water and food to truckers stuck on the motorway and portable toilets were made available

At a total standstill: Trucks queue on the M20 as part of Operation Stack near Ashford earlier this afternoon

Home Secretary Theresa May is on her way to France today to discuss the growing transport and migrant crisis in Calais.

WHAT IS OPERATION STACK? Operation Stack is where parts of the M20 are used to queue lorries that are travelling towards the continent, to avoid causing gridlock across Kent's road network. It is only introduced as an emergency measure after consultation with other agencies and implemented following a thorough assessment of issues, including safety concerns and disruption on the road network. Advertisement

Last week she told the House of Commons that border forces had 'successfully identified and intercepted a significant number of would-be migrants'.

She insisted that a 'significant border security operation' could cope while a massive backlog of traffic is cleared. But Mrs May is bracing herself for criticism from the French during her meeting with Bernard Cazeneuve, France's Interior Minister, in Paris.

Many blame Britain's benefits culture, and its chaotic asylum system, for attracting thousands of foreigners to the coast of England, via the French ports.

In turn, Mrs May will demand answers as to how French trade unionists regularly break into the Channel Tunnel so easily.

On Tuesday dozens of the protesters forced their way into supposedly secure zones, igniting tyres so as to start blazes along the railway lines linking the UK and France.

It followed similar intrusions last week which caused thousands of pounds worth of damage, and showed how easy it was for anyone, including migrants, to get into the tunnel.

Conversation: Truck drivers employed by HrubyMOVING in the Czech Republic queue on the M20 as part of Operation Stack today

Into the distance: Police have delivered water and food to truckers stuck on the motorway and portable toilets were made available

Winning the race: A Eurostar train is seen speeding past lorries parked on the M20. Both the train and the lorries are bound for France

A man holds up a scarf emblazoned with the word 'Romania' as lorries continue to be parked on the M20 near Ashford this afternoon

Both times the strikers broke into the tunnel, they were able to bring both Eurostar passenger trains and Le Shuttle services - which transport both freight and cars - to a halt

Eric Vercoutre, leader of the firebrand workers bringing misery to thousands of people travelling through the port, has likened security in the undersea link 'to a sieve'.

Today Mr Vercoutre said his colleagues would 'maintain pressure on the ships, but will let boats from the company P&O enter one by one until the end of the negotiations'.

Workers from my MyFerryLink are opposed to the sell-off of ferries to rival Danish firm DFDS - a move which will mean hundreds of job losses.

Eurotunnel has made a report to police about the behaviour of the trade unionists, who at one stage took pictures of themselves brandishing a Tricolour French flag.

There are currently some 3,000 migrants sleeping rough in Calais, all of them hoping to get to Britain to claim asylum, or else to disappear into the black economy.

Many have been involved in fighting with the police as they try to get aboard vehicles heading for Dover.

Haulage groups today called for the army to clear the massive backlog of 8,000 trucks stranded in Kent because of the French ferry strike

Relaxed: A truck driver employed by HrubyMOVING in the Czech Republic enjoys a cup of tea as he queues on the M20 today

Having a rest: A lorry driver puts his feet up amid massive delays on the M20 in Kent this afternoon

Queues: Kent Police have implemented Phase 4 of Operation Stack, where freight traffic is held on the coastbound carriageway of the M20

The disruption began on Monday when MyFerryLink workers staged a wildcat strike in protest at expected job cuts in the French port city.

Kent Police have implemented Phase 4 of Operation Stack, where freight traffic is held on the coastbound carriageway of the M20.

More than 3,000 people displaced from countries including Eritrea, Syria and Afghanistan have set up camp around Calais.

Meanwhile, P&O Ferries chief executive Helen Deeble hit out about the ferry disruptions caused by the strike, with fierce criticism of the British and French governments as well as Eurotunnel.

She pointed out that P&O Ferries employs thousands of people on both sides of the Channel and 'this damaging and dangerous industrial action is now putting those jobs at risk'.

Crew members and catering staff on MyFerryLink services announced the strike after Eurotunnel, which owns the ships, sold the cross-channel service to rival operator DFDS.

The sale came after a competition authority ruling and left up to 600 jobs, including 70 in Dover, under threat.

Kent County Council said its staff provided 2,000 bottles of water and 750 snack meals on Tuesday, and a further 5,000 bottles, plus 200 meals, were expected to have been distributed yesterday to drivers caught up in Operation Stack.

French policemen ask a migrant to get out of the trailer of a truck he climbed in while it was stationary in a queue near Calais ferry port

Once the French police officers' backs were turned another group of migrants were seen sneaking into the back of a nearby ferry

Lining up: People queue to board Eurostar trains at St Pancras international train station terminal in London this afternoon

Up in flames: Striking French ferry workers from MyFerryLink burned tyres in the Eurotunnel tracks around 300 metres from the entry to the tunnel linking France and Britain earlier this week

Yesterday the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Kent Police and Kent Fire and Rescue Service were helping hand out the drinks and food along the closed stretch of the M20.

Motorists were told to avoid the area and some vented their frustration about the delays caused by the strike on the other side of the Channel.

On Twitter, one wrote: 'This Operation Stack is a disgrace, wasn't even travelling in the direction of France and it's still causing hour delays.'

Another tweeted Conservative Dover MP Charlie Elphicke, saying: 'For the record, the people of Dover are now stranded, completely cut off in their own town.'

Cabinet minister Oliver Letwin chaired a meeting of the Government's Cobra emergency committee to discuss the situation in Calais, and Prime Minister David Cameron spoke by phone with French president Francois Hollande.

The news comes as it emerged the blockade of Calais is costing the UK a staggering £250m a day.

The Port of Dover says the situation is 'unacceptable' and has called for the industrial action to end.

Tim Waggott, Chief Executive of the Port of Dover today said: “'The scale and prolonged period of disruption is bad for us all and it is bad for the UK too.