Water flown in to aid stranded travellers

A team of volunteers were so moved by the plight of people stranded in lengthy queues heading to Dover that they loaded up two vehicles with water to hand out to frustrated travellers.

Ravi Singh and two others brought cereal bars and thousands of bottles of water in a van and truck from Slough.

The team, volunteering as part of Khalsa Aid, contacted local police and authorities at the port, offering to help provide much-needed supplies.

A police helicopter helped distribute water to motorists on Saturday and Mr Singh said local officials had been only too happy to take up his offer of additional aid.

“We went to the local cash and carry with a pick-up truck and a vanload, and drove with our vehicles full of water,” he said.

The team ended up getting stuck in traffic themselves for hours but were finally able to deliver aid late on Saturday night.

Mr Singh, 46, said: “We met a lot of young families with children, mostly people going on holidays, some heading back home to France.

“There was just total frustration. People didn’t know what was going on.”

Khalsa Aid normally helps refugees and has also provided aid during disasters in the UK including floods.

Mr Singh said the situation at Dover came as a surprise to the team.

He said: “It was very strange to see people keen for water in a country so developed.”

Mr Singh praised local authorities but said the government should have stepped in sooner.

“Local people and local staff at Dover are doing a fantastic job but the government should have really done something a bit more to reassure the people during the day,” he said.

Some of the traffic chaos in Dover.