Thousands stranded as French heighten security at Dover
LONDON, 24 Jul (ANA) - Tens of thousands of people making their way to the Port of Dover have been stuck in traffic for more than 14 hours - with many motorists stuck in traffic overnight. The reason for the delays was heightened French security on this side of the channel. Questions have now been raised as to staffing levels to cope with a deluge of some 250,000 holidaymakers coupled with stringent security checks put in place by French authorities at the port in the wake of the terror attack in Nice last week. Port authorities said French border control booths at Dover had been 'seriously understaffed' overnight on Friday, with just three of the seven passport control booths open. At the height of the chaos, just one member of the French border force was checking passengers' passports on hundreds of coaches - taking 40 minutes to check each coach. British officials are now being drafted in to work with French border police after the Government admitted motorists had suffered 'extraordinary disruption'.  Police helicopters were also drafted in to deliver water (inset, left) to thousands of stricken motorists - as some 250,000 passengers pass through Dover on the busiest weekend of the summer.(ANA)
FA/ANA/24 July 2016--------