£32,000 fines for lorries since Jan 1

MORE than £32,000 in fines have been handed out to lorry drivers in Kent since New Year’s Day.

Some were caught entering the county without the new permit needed following the UK’s departure from the EU single market, while others tried to skip the queue. Despite this, a high percentage of drivers heading to the Eurotunnel and Dover are arriving with the right documentation, police said.

New rules for hauliers heading to France have come in since the UK left the single market, together with heightened coronavirus measures.

The feared queues of lorries along Kent motorways following December 31 have not yet materialised but traffic volumes are expected to pick up as January goes on. So far this year at least 84 enforcement notices have been issued to drivers caught entering the county without a Kent Access Permit (KAP).

Meanwhile hauliers have warned they are being “overwhelmed” by red tape due to new checks on deliveries to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK following Brexit. The industry body Logistics UK said deliveries were being delayed as lorries arrived in Belfast with incomplete paperwork following the end of the transition period on December 31.