Port of Dover says backlog of coaches 'cleared overnight' after long weekend queues ahead of Easter

The Port of Dover says a backlog of coaches trying to cross the English Channel was cleared last night.

There have been lengthy queues over the weekend with a critical incident declared.

Bad weather and disruption in France have been blamed with some travellers having to wait more than 12 hours.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has rejected suggestions that Brexit could be the cause of delays at the Port of Dover as passengers on the Easter getaway faced long queues.

In a statement the Port said: "All of this weekend’s coaches have been processed through immigration controls at the port and have headed off to France. The critical incident has been stood down.

"The Port of Dover continued working round the clock with the ferry operators and border agencies to get coach passengers on their way and the backlog is now cleared.

"Along with the final coaches being processed through the port, all tourist cars and freight vehicles were also processed successfully.

"We continue to offer our sincere apologies to all those affected by the prolonged delays that have occurred over this weekend. We will be conducting a full review of our plans with the ferry operators early this week to ensure improvements are made ready for the forthcoming Easter weekend."