Roads grind to a halt as Stack shuts M20 again
cmcwethy@thekmgroup.co.uk Maidstone’s roads ground to a halt this week after striking French workers closed the port of Calais – 70 miles away.
Police were forced to put Operation Stack into effect on Tuesday morning, shutting off the coastbound M20 to domestic traffic from J8 at Hollingbourne and turning the stretch of motorway into a giant lorry park.
Thousands of HGVs were caught in a 16-mile-long queue, stretching back from J9 for Ashford to J7 at Detling, while freight traffic waited for an opportunity to cross the Channel.
There were also long delays for Maidstone commuters, with six-mile queues reported on the A249 back to Stockbury and grid- lock on the town’s one-way system during Wednesday’s morning rush-hour. Ferries between Dover and Calais were suspended on Tuesday after MyFerryLink workers blockaded the French port over jobs.
Eurotunnel later stopped services for safety reasons after protesters stormed the passenger terminal and a fire broke out.
While the strike ended on Tuesday night, Operation Stack remained in place the following day while the backlog of traffic cleared. Stack was lifted around 1am on Thursday.
But turmoil carried on for days at Calais as groups of migrants tried to board waiting lorries.
Several drivers for Kelly International Transport Ltd, based at Larkfield Trading Estate, found their lorries were damaged as migrants tried to climb on.
Neil Thomas, 46, was queuing at Calais for 15 hours. He said: “It’s frustrating. The facilities are non-existent but you don’t want to get out of your cab for fear of attack from immigrants surrounding the truck and trying to get on the trailer.
Worried
“I feel threatened and intimidated. I am constantly worried about violence.
“They are armed with knives and bolt cutters, they surround the vehicle, damage the truck and threaten the drivers.”
But MEP for South East England Keith Taylor, who was delayed for four hours on his way to Brussels,called for ‘compassion’ to be shown.
He said: “Better opportunities for legal access to Britain would be a good response.”