French truckers who planned to cause chaos at the port of Calais have had their protest against the Jungle migrant camp branded a flop as holidaymakers have been simply diverted around their roadblock.

The town, in nothern France, had been bracing itself for a week of severe distruption after truckers, farmers and business owners vowed to cut off the port in protest at the makeshift migrant camp.

However, it has been revealed that people driving to Calais to pick up ferries to bring them back across the English Channel to Dover are just being sent on a diversion, which adds just 21 minutes to their journey time.

Harbour workers, shop keepers and residents march together in a human chain protest in Calais to demonstrate against the migrant Jungle camp. They carried a banner saying reading 'My harbour is beautiful, My city is beautiful'

French business owners and local residents block the main road leading to the port of Calais this morning

The human chain of locals and business owners march on the motorway leading to the Port of Calais

Many of the people taking part in the human chain blockage wore fluorescent jackets and special T-shirts

Protesters blockade the road leading to the French port by waving flags and holding flares in the air

A crowd cheers with French flags as a trucker blocks the highway near Calais, northern France

Hot dogs and refreshments are offered to people taking part in a blockade around the port of Calais in France

The human chain of people were strung right out across the carriageway to stop any traffic

Meanwhile ferry operator DFDS Seaways said even with the diversions, all of their sailings were running to schedule.

There had also been fears that the blockade would also cause chaos in Kent, if ferries were to stop running, forcing Operation Stack on the M20 to be put into place.

But with sailings running on time, the M20 was also operating as normal.

The protest began this morning under light rain when around 80 trucks began a 'go-slow' on the A16 motorway - the main artery for freight and passengers heading for Britain either via the port or Channel Tunnel.

Farmers also joined the demonstration on their tractors as up to 500 people joined a 'human chain' protest in the blockade dubbed 'Operation Snail'.

Despite the road blockades on the A16, motorists to the ferry port were put on a diverted route which only added 20 minutes to their journeys

Trucks came to a standstill at the end of the highway with one tipping its tank towards the ground

French truckers begin their 'go-slow' blockade of the main motorway leading from Loon Plage to the port of Calais

A group of farmers and tractors abandoned their vehicles on the road to stop traffic from moving

Lorries, cars and tractors joined together for the go-slow leading towards the French port

Traffic came to a crawl on the A16 motorway as the 'go-slow' protest began against the Jungle migrant camp

The column will meet up with the convoy coming from the opposite direction and block access to the port

As the human chain blocked the carriageway, the protesters waved banners against the the Jungle camp

Many displayed the tricolour flag, or signs saying 'I love Calais' in French as they formed a barrier to any traffic coming along the A16.

The truckers insist they will keep protesting until they receive a date when the Jungle camp, now home to 10,000 migrants, will be torn down.

Local residents also say they makeshift camp is a blight on their businesses, and that those living there are involved in every kind of crime, from theft to attacking delivery lorries and trespassing on farm land.

They are also demanding that British authorities stop fining drivers £2,000 per migrant found in their lorries.

Frederic Van Gansbeke, who represents business and shop owners in Calais, said: 'We've had no answers, so we're blocking things up.'

Three women sit at the side of the road before forming the human chain wearing 'I love Calais' T-shirts

A man wearing a T-shirt reading 'I love Calais' stands among trucks as a dozen of truck drivers gather in a car park

One of the protesters distributes T-shirts with the 'I love Calais' slogan on them before forming the human chain

While Nicolas Lotin, who runs a logistics company in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer added: 'Every day, we have to wonder whether our working day will be ruined, whether a migrant will sneak under the truck's canvas.

'If the goods are damaged, they have to be immediately transported back to the home depot.'

Britons Matthew and Helen Bolton got lost trying to find their way to the Channel Tunnel.

The couple, from the Wirral, were on their way back from a camping holiday with their three young children when they were diverted by police.

Mr Bolton, 33, said: 'We have no idea where we're going, we're trying to get to the Tunnel.

'Basically what the police have done is just block the road and not told you where to go - that's what we're a bit miffed by really.'

French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve pledged on Friday to dismantle the Jungle 'by the end of the year'

French farmers also began to gather with their tractors near the town of Marck as they too plan to join in with the blockade

Farmers also took part in the blockade and used their tractors to slow down traffic on the motorway

The blockade will cause misery for thousands of Britons heading for Calais returning from holidays today and the Foreign Office warned them to 'prepare for delays'

French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve pledged on Friday to dismantle the Jungle 'by the end of the year'.

But the truckers want him to come up with an exact timetable.

Migrants have resorted to increasingly violent measures to try to get on to UK-bound trucks.

ARE YOU CAUGHT UP IN THE TRAFFIC CHAOS IN CALAIS? Send your pictures to jennifer.newton@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

David Sagnard, of France's National Federation of Lorry Transport, said: 'Do we have to risk our lives on the motorway through doing our work?'

But Charlie Elphicke, Tory MP for Dover and Deal, said the blockade 'will achieve nothing other than chaos on the roads'.

He has written to Home Secretary Amber Rudd to make sure there is a 'robust plan' to prevent a repeat of the traffic chaos in Kent in July, caused by a lack of French border staff at Dover.

The first of the French truckers arrive at a car park in Loon Plage early this morning before beginning their go-slow into Calais

Under light rain, around 70 trucks began a 'go-slow' on the A16 motorway - the main artery for freight and passengers heading for Britain either via the port or Channel Tunnel

The truckers are also demanding that British authorities stop fining drivers £2,000 per migrant found in their lorries

A French policeman stands guard as a dozen truck drivers gather prior to a go-slow on the main motorway into Calais

Richard Burnett, of the Road Haulage Association, said the protesters were 'in it for the long haul', adding that it will bring 'further misery' for British hauliers and locals in Kent.

He explained: 'It seems certain that traffic crossing from the UK will find it almost impossible to leave the port as access to the A16 is denied.

'The inevitable repercussions of this will surely mean that the authorities on this side of the Channel will have no alternative but to deploy Operation Stack.

The truckers insist they will keep protesting until they receive a date when the Jungle camp, pictured, now home to 10,000 migrants, will be torn down

Charlie Elphicke MP, wants to make sure there is a 'robust plan' to prevent a repeat of the traffic chaos in Kent in July (pictured), caused by a lack of French border staff at Dover

Migrants have resorted to increasingly violent measures to try to get on to UK-bound trucks

'This will bring yet further misery to hauliers bound for mainland Europe and of course for the people and businesses of Kent.'

However, among those supporting the protest was Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart who said: 'There might be chaos and disorder on Monday but this is for a good cause. We want things to change.

'There is chaos every day and every night. We want the French government to take its responsibilities and put an end to this particularly difficult time we are facing.' Criminal gangs are adopting new methods to smuggle migrants into the UK – including throwing items at cars to try to make them crash.

Are you stuck in traffic caused by the blockade of the port of Calais? Send your pictures to jennifer.newton@mailonline.co.uk