THE DAY TERROR ACROSS EUROPE BROUGHT BRITAIN TO A STANDSTILL

Horror and heartbreak as witnesses describe ‘living nightmare’ of rampage

IT IS difficult to imagine a more miserable start to the summer getaway – tens of thousands of holidaymakers languishing in traffic jams snaking across Kent yesterday as extra security checks were introduced at Dover following terror attacks in Europe.

Emergency services handed out bottles of water as families heading for France sat in 12-mile tailbacks for up to 15 hours as temperatures soared.

The new checks had been demanded by France in the wake of the massacres in Paris and Nice, and Friday’s shooting in Munich. But Dover officials said the French had escalated the crisis by ‘seriously’ understaffing their border control booths at Dover over one of the busiest weekends of the year.

Officials said that on Friday night only three out of seven booths were manned, and at one point there was only one French officer checking passengers on coaches – contributing to the huge backlog yesterday. The port said it had no authority over French operations, but had raised the staffing issues with the Government last week.

Some motorists took to Twitter to display their Dunkirk spirit. One wrote: ‘Rationing Rich Tea biscuits because that’s all we have to survive this traffic.’

Another tweeted: ‘Is this what the French mean by free movement?’

Dover authorities said they would normally expect 10,000 cars a day to make the crossing at this time of year.

Highways England said delays lasted an average of eight hours on the A20 and A2 eastbound, while parts of the northbound A20 were closed to allow Kent Police, the coastguard and volunteers to hand out more than 11,000 bottles of water.

The problems at Dover came as an estimated two million people headed abroad at the start of the school holidays.