British truckers trapped for hours in 100F heat as Calais mob cause 38-mile M20 jam
STRIKING ferry workers in Calais caused “absolute mayhem” on both sides of the Channel yesterday.
Meanwhile
truckers caught in traffic jams in France are on guard for mobs from
the 3,000 migrants camping around Calais trying to break into their
vehicles.
The ferry crews vowed to step up their action
today and tomorrow with plans to try to shut the Channel Tunnel and
block the French motorway leading to Calais.
The queues coincided with the hottest day of the year.
Emergency services and the Red Cross distributed 20,000 litres of water and 1,000 snack meals to stranded drivers in Kent.
The only way to describe what is happening there is absolute mayhem. It is inevitably putting many lives at risk
Road Haulage Association
chief executive Richard Burnett, who went to Calais on Tuesday to see
the chaos for himself, said: “The time for talking around the table has
passed. The UK and French governments must acknowledge their
responsibilities to all Port of Calais users, move in and act. If this
means deployment of the armed forces then so be it.
“The
scale of the current situation has to be seen to be believed. The only
way to describe what is happening there is absolute mayhem. It is
inevitably putting many lives at risk.”
David Cameron
spoke to French president Francois Hollande for 10 minutes by phone
about the crisis yesterday and the British ambassador visited Calais to
liaise with the authorities.
The strikers, employees of MyFerryLink, are protesting against a re-organisation that will see many jobs lost.
While
the road chaos continued there was a reprieve for air travellers as
French air traffic controllers last night called off a two-day strike
scheduled to start today.
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