Extra sniffer dogs and fencing will be sent to Calais to help deal with the ongoing migrant crisis, the prime minister has announced.
David Cameron, who was speaking after a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee, also said that Ministry of Defence land would be used to divert heavy traffic in Kent, where thousands of lorries are queuing on the M20 and routes around Dover.
The dogs will be used to provide 24-hour cover for the routes into Coquelles and the ferry port at Calais. Home secretary Theresa May had previously promised extra fencing and a “safe zone” that would protect 230 lorries queuing at Calais.
According to reports, army camps in Folkestone and Canterbury may be used as possible alternative lorry parks to the M20. Increasing capacity on cross-Channel ferry routes from ports other than Dover is also being considered, the Guardian reported, while UKIP leader Nigel Farage has told BBC Radio Leeds that freight could start moving again quickly if lorries were diverted to other ports, such as Ramsgate.
Cameron said he would be meeting with French president Francois Hollande about the issue, but warned that the disruption is likely to continue throughout the summer.
''We need to do more to help lorry drivers and holiday-makers,” he said. 'This is going to be a difficult issue right across the summer.”
The news follows a fourth night of disruption at the Calais Eurotunnel terminal as migrants attempt to board lorries heading for Britain.
DFDS Seaways said its Dover-Calais services are currently operating with a maximum delay of 20 minutes, and P&O Freight said its full service is running within 30 minutes of schedule.
“This is an unprecedented period,” said Tim Waggott, chief executive of the Port of Dover. “While images of vast numbers of freight vehicles waiting on the M20 might give the impression that things are not moving, yesterday the Port of Dover handled almost 8,500 of them, over three per cent more than on the same day the previous year.”
Operation Stack was still in place today (31 July), with all coast-bound freight traffic being directed to the back of the queue at Junction 8 at Hollingbourne, while any lorries approaching the port without an Operation Stack ticket will be turned away.
Freight handlers are advised to consult the Port of Dover website or Twitter account for the latest travel information.
