HOLIDAY HELL: French border staff blamed for horrendous 12-hour traffic jams in Dover

Holidaymakers were trapped in traffic for up to 12 hours in the UK over the weekend as temperatures soared to around 30 degrees Celsius.

The delays, which took place in Kent on the south east coast of England, are being attributed to a lack French border staff at French border controls.

The traffic jams occurred on the A2, A20 and M20, with people struggling to cope with the heat, a lack of food and water, and no access to toilet facilities.

On Sunday morning, the Port of Dover tweeted that motorists on the A20 were still facing 4.5-hour road delays and up to 35 minutes on the A2, followed by two-hour delays inside the port.

Those caught up in the traffic are waiting to cross the Channel and start their summer holidays in France and other European countries that they intend to travel onto.

Holidaymaker Matt Norwood tweeted at 8:30am on Sunday: "Not the best start to our holiday, haven't moved since 1am," while deputy head teacher Paul Gower, tweeted: "Carnage heading to #Dover hours of traffic and no end in sight. Super start to the holiday!"

Helicopters and motorbikes have been used by Kent Police to provide up to 1,000 bottles of waters to stranded motorists.

French border authorities increased security checks following the terrorist attacks in Nice the other week, meaning it's likely that each individual vehicle check takes slightly longer than normal.

On Sunday morning, the Port of Dover authority said: "The French border control booths have been seriously understaffed overnight with only three booths available for tourists out of a potential seven.

"At one stage, only one French officer was available to check passengers on hundreds of coaches, resulting in each coach taking 40 minutes to process.

"The Port of Dover, which has no authority over French border operations, raised concerns over French manning levels with the UK government earlier this week and the government, in turn, raised the issue with its French counterparts."

The queues reportedly began to build up in Dover around 6am on Saturday.

Ferry companies said some of their vessels were leaving the UK half empty in order to keep their running schedules on time.

Charlie Elphicke, the Conservative MP for Dover and Deal, described the situation as "completely unacceptable," blaming the UK government instead of the French border authorities. 

He said: "The Department for Transport and Home Office knew there would be heightened security checks in place in France. They should have been prepared. They weren't.

"The families stuck in this traffic nightmare should by now be across the Channel enjoying their holidays. They are owed an apology, as are the people of Dover who once again have to put up with traffic chaos in the town.

"The government needs to take control of the situation on the road and help families and vulnerable people stranded in the tailbacks. The extra French border checks are no excuse for poor transport management."