Over 10,000 Covid tests are carried out in effort to clear Kent lorry logjam with just 24 positive results as thousands of drivers still wait to cross The Channel after 800 military personnel were drafted in to help

  • Another 800 military personnel are sent to Kent as part of Operation Rose to help test thousands of truckers 
  • Thousands of drivers are spending Christmas Day in their lorry cabs as they wait to cross Channel to France
  • Villagers from Mersham, near Ashford, lowered food from bridges to feed the stranded truckers
  • Faversham locals also gave essential items to drivers stuck at Marston airport while they wait for Covid tests
  • It comes after France introduced a travel ban unless drivers have a negative test that they can show oMore than 10,000 Covid-19 tests have been carried out in an effort to clear the Kent lorry logjam with just 24 positive results - as thousands of drivers still wait to cross The Channel on Christmas Day.   

    Hundreds of soldiers have been deployed as part of the repatriation operation after French Covid-19 restrictions temporarily banning UK freight caused severe disruption at the Port of Dover in the run up to Christmas Day.

    The French are demanding a negative Covid test from lorry drivers before they are allowed to cross the border - after introducing a travel ban on Sunday following the discovery of a fast-spreading mutant strain in the UK.

    Grant Shapps today confirmed more than 10,000 Covid-19 tests have been carried out by authorities in Dover, with only 24 positive cases found - around 0.24 per cent of those tested.

    He added: 'A huge thank you for the tireless efforts of our troops, police, civilian testers, council planners & port & ferry workers for giving up their Xmas to get people home.'  

    Around 1,100 British military personnel have been sent to Kent as part of Operation Rose to help perform Covid tests, marshal traffic, distribute food and organise welfare facilities to 5,000 waiting lorry drivers.    

    Traffic was moving smoothly through the port on Friday morning, with 30 French firefighters also sent in to help the military test drivers for coronavirus. The Polish defence minister said their country would also send 60 territorial army soldiers.

    Photographs from the M20 show piles of food delivered by the public to stranded truckers, while others plan to bring fish and chips to more than 300 of the drivers later on Christmas Day.  

    Many stranded drivers are now spending Christmas stuck in their truck cabs. Pictured: The M20 this morning on Christmas Day

    Soldiers stand at the entrance of the Port of Dover today, amid the coronavirus outbreak in Britain on Christmas Day

    Soldiers stand at the entrance of the Port of Dover today, amid the coronavirus outbreak in Britain on Christmas Day

    Pictured: Food parcels delivered by members of the public to lorry drivers who remain trapped on the M20 in Kent today

    Pictured: Food parcels delivered by members of the public to lorry drivers who remain trapped on the M20 in Kent today

    A mother and child wearing Christmas hats look at the line of trucks parked up on the M20, part of Operation Stack in Ashford, Kent

    A mother and child wearing Christmas hats look at the line of trucks parked up on the M20, part of Operation Stack in Ashford, Kent

    Thousands wait to resume their journey across The Channel on Christmas Day after the borders with France reopened

    Thousands wait to resume their journey across The Channel on Christmas Day after the borders with France reopened

    Thousands wait to resume their journey across The Channel as Covid tests are administered by an international taskforce 

    Some drivers have already spent nearly a week stranded at Manston (pictured on Christmas Day) due to the diplomatic impasse after the French closed their borders

    Some drivers have already spent nearly a week stranded at Manston (pictured on Christmas Day) due to the diplomatic impasse after the French closed their borders 

    Grant Shapps today confirmed more than 10,000 Covid-19 tests have been carried out by authorities in Dover, with only 24 positive cases found - around 0.24 per cent of those tested

    Grant Shapps today confirmed more than 10,000 Covid-19 tests have been carried out by authorities in Dover, with only 24 positive cases found - around 0.24 per cent of those tested

    James Heappey MP, Minister for the Armed Forces, called it a 'fantastic international effort' in a tweet on Christmas Eve. 

    More than 700 hauliers have been cleared for departure since France reopened its border on Wednesday - and a chorus of beeping horns sounded at Dover on Christmas Eve as those at the front of the queue celebrated finally being able to leave.

    However, some 5,000 remain unable to get home yet, despite some progress made in testing drivers holed up in their vehicles at nearby Manston Airport, a disused airbase that has been turned into a temporary truck park, on a closed section of the M20, and in the town of Dover itself. 

    It is understood there were once as many as 10,000 lorry drivers waiting at the port, with a steady stream now leaving as they test negative for the virus. 

    Some have already spent nearly a week stranded due to the diplomatic impasse.

    Southeastern Railway and Network Rail arranged for food to be delivered to lorry drivers stuck in Operation Brock on the M20. Seven trains carrying crates of food for the hauliers have left London in the past 48 hours, with the Salvation Army distributing the items. 

    Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: 'We need to get the situation in Kent, caused by the French Government's sudden imposition of Covid restrictions, resolved as soon as possible.

    'I have today sent special instructions to the Army to take control of testing and HGV management operations in the county. Our aim is to get foreign hauliers home with their families as quickly as we can.

    'I know it's been hard for many drivers cooped up in their cabs at this precious time of year, but I assure them that we are doing our utmost to get them home.'

    The Department for Transport (DfT) said all but three of the 2,367 coronavirus tests issued to hauliers have been negative - a stipulation of travel introduced by French authorities.    

    Hundreds of stranded lorries are seen on the M20 in Kent as they try to reach the Port of Dover on Christmas Day

    Hundreds of stranded lorries are seen on the M20 in Kent as they try to reach the Port of Dover on Christmas Day

    The Department for Transport (DfT) said all but three of the 2,367 coronavirus tests issued to hauliers have been negative - a stipulation of travel introduced by French authorities. Pictured: Dover today

    The Department for Transport (DfT) said all but three of the 2,367 coronavirus tests issued to hauliers have been negative - a stipulation of travel introduced by French authorities. Pictured: Dover today

    Soldiers carry out a coronavirus test on a driver at the entrance to Port of Dover in Kent amid the pandemic on Christmas Day

    Soldiers carry out a coronavirus test on a driver at the entrance to Port of Dover in Kent amid the pandemic on Christmas Day

    The Government said catering vans would provide complementary hot food and drinks to stranded hauliers at Manston, with Kent Council and volunteer groups providing refreshments to those stuck on the M20

    The Government said catering vans would provide complementary hot food and drinks to stranded hauliers at Manston, with Kent Council and volunteer groups providing refreshments to those stuck on the M20

    Thousand remain trapped on the M20 in Kent trying to gain access to Dover Port, approximately 13 miles of traffic is halted

    Thousand remain trapped on the M20 in Kent trying to gain access to Dover Port, approximately 13 miles of traffic is halted

    Kind locals Allan and Elizabeth Wilson from Lenham Forstal in Kent bring food to stranded lorry drivers on the M20 in Kent. The packages contained a Christmas lunch of turkey sandwiches and drinks

    Kind locals Allan and Elizabeth Wilson from Lenham Forstal in Kent bring food to stranded lorry drivers on the M20 in Kent. The packages contained a Christmas lunch of turkey sandwiches and drinks

    A Port of Dover spokesman said ferry services had run throughout Christmas Eve night and would continue on Christmas Day to help ease congestion

    A Port of Dover spokesman said ferry services had run throughout Christmas Eve night and would continue on Christmas Day to help ease congestion

    Traffic was yesterday moving more quickly at the Eurotunnel, with around 2,000 lorries expected to depart on Thursday

    Traffic was yesterday moving more quickly at the Eurotunnel, with around 2,000 lorries expected to depart on Thursday

    Pictured: A lorry driver stopped on the approach to the Port of Dover stands with a packet of ready salted Walker's crisps

    Pictured: A lorry driver stopped on the approach to the Port of Dover stands with a packet of ready salted Walker's crisps

    Trucks line up at check-in to the ferry at The Port of Dover, Kent on Christmas Day, as thousands wait to resume their journeys
    Trucks line up at check-in to the ferry at The Port of Dover, Kent on Christmas Day, as thousands wait to resume their Villagers lower food from M20 bridges near Ashford to truckers stuck in Operation Stack as Domino's deliver pizza
    Hundreds of hauliers are lined on the M20 as part of Operation Stack waiting for a negative test result before they can make their way to the continent
    Hundreds of hauliers are lined on the M20 as part of Operation Stack waiting for a negative test result before they can make their way to the Water bottles, toilet roll and snacks were among the essntial supplies passed to the waiting drivers through the airports perimeter fence. 

    Mersham residents Jan and David James also walked down the carriageway between ranks of parked up trucks to hand out food on Christmas Eve. The pair climbed over a barrier walked down a set of steps on the embankment to reach the road.

    Jackie and Peter Bates have also stepped in to spread Christmas cheer among the drivers.

    Mrs James, 69, a former teacher told Kent Online: 'We went round knocking on doors in Mersham asking if people had any spare food and they have been brilliant. They gave us lots of food in bags and we then took it to the bridges.

    'We have had tins of beans, orange juice, fruit, biscuits, crisps and corn beef - anything the lorry drivers could eat with their fingers but I think most of them have cutlery anyway.

    'A lot of the drivers were asking us how far away Tesco was and many of them were walking to the supermarket.

    'We ran out of food in the end but we could have gone on and on - it was just something we felt we had to do for the poor blokes.vcontinentjourneysfficialsv

 

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