Three hour queues reported by Port of Dover passengers with lorries forced to queue

Video shows cars waiting to get through passport control at the Port of Dover

People heading to the Port of Dover have described delays of up to three hours on the first day of the bank holiday weekend.

Some passengers described crawling at a snails pace for two hours with little progress.

An IT glitch at Border Control led to delays early morning but that has now been repaired as the passenger terminal braces for a deluge of travellers.

On the M20 and A20 lorries are being held to avoid them clogging up the port at the start of the half term break.

During the Easter holidays, some passengers endured waits of over twelve hours when the port became overwhelmed.

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4:45pm

The Port of Dover say delays are now at 45 minutes.

2:47pm

Port of Dover say the situation has improved. The terminal Tweeted,

"As predicted #PortofDover is busy but traffic currently processing well and according to plan. Waiting times for cars now down to under 30 mins and coaches 60 mins."

1:48pm

DFDS reports 90 minute delays on its services. In a Tweet, the company said, "DOVER-DUNKIRK | 16:00 Service is operating with a 90 minute delay, please check-in as normal. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. #dfdshelp"

12:12pm

The Port of Dover has Tweeted that queues are reducing despite passengers reporting much longer waits.

"As predicted #PortofDover is busy but traffic currently processing well and according to plan. Waiting times for cars and coaches now down to 45 mins. Sorry for any disruption caused to our community by earlier unforseen border control IT issue."

However, passenger Linda O'Sullivan responded, "This is incorrect, we have been queuing for 3 hours and just in another queue to finally check in for our ferry that has just left. No communication and no idea when we will be able to sail."

11:40am

Video captured by passenger Nathalie McEntee shows lorries forced to queue to avoid clogging up the port.

Nathalie McEntee took this photo of the queues heading towards the port Credit: Nathalie McEntee

10:20am

The Port of Dover is reporting delays of 90 minutes as it works to clear the queue backlog caused by IT issues.9:20am

Jodie Bellamy is among those stuck in queueing traffic Credit: Jodie Bellamy

One passenger, Jodie Bellamy told ITV News Meridian,

"We’ve probably been waiting nearly 2 hours with only slight movement. Enough time to leave the car and get a coffee!

"A tad frustrating as we had allowed 60 mins more than we needed too.

9:10am

The Port of Dover Tweeted, "As predicted #PortofDover is busy but traffic currently processing well and according to plan. Earlier IT issues at border resolved. Average waiting times for cars and coaches now 90 mins."

8:27am

Stagecoach bus services are being disrupted as a result of the traffic building around the Port of Dover

8:00am

The Port of Dover says waiting times for cars and coaches are now 60mins.

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