Covid-19: Drivers urged to avoid ports as France shuts border
Published
image captionAll outbound traffic from Dover has been halted for 48 hours
Lorry drivers have been urged not to travel to ports in Kent, East Sussex and Hampshire after France closed its border with the UK for 48 hours.
In a bid to ease congestion towards Dover, Operation Stack has been activated on the coast-bound M20.
Passenger ferries and lorry freight bound for France have been suspended from Dover, Portsmouth and Newhaven.
However, speaking to BBC Radio 4, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said goods were still moving. Most of freight is not accompanied and that can still flow, of course, he said.
Listen • 5:45
Trucks queue during operation stack toward Dover, England, on December 21, 2020. Citing concern over a new COVID-19 variant and England s surge in cases, France temporarily closed its border with the UK late Sunday, halting freight and ferry departures from the port of Dover for 48 hours. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Countries in Europe are concerned about a new strain of the coronavirus that authorities say may spread more easily.
France has banned trucks from the United Kingdom for a period of 48 hours while the new COVID-19 variant is assessed.
Host Robin Young speaks with lorry driver
Rick Mayo, who is currently stuck in Kent, England.
Covid-19: Drivers urged to avoid ports as France shuts border
Published
image captionAll outbound traffic from Dover has been halted for 48 hours
Lorry drivers have been urged not to travel to ports in Kent, East Sussex and Hampshire after France closed its border with the UK for 48 hours.
In a bid to ease congestion towards Dover, Operation Stack has been activated on the coast-bound M20.
Passenger ferries and lorry freight bound for France have been suspended from Dover, Portsmouth and Newhaven.
However, speaking to BBC Radio 4, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said goods were still moving. Most of freight is not accompanied and that can still flow, of course, he said.