More than 40,000 people have now backed a petition calling for Eurostar services to return to Kent.

No international services have pulled into Ashford or Ebbsfleet stations since the first lockdown in March 2020, sparking anger among passengers who now have to travel to London to catch services bound for the continent.

In March, a campaign group made up of residents and business owners decided to start a petition to see how much support there was for the services to return.

It racked up thousands of signatures in a matter of weeks and now eight months on the petition continues to gain support.

It has now reached the 40,000-signature milestone with members of the group promising to continue putting pressure on those involved.

A spokesperson for the Bring Back Eurotrains group said: “It's great to see the number of people who have got behind this petition, which is a clear indication of the demand from people across the South East for international train services from Kent’s two existing international stations.

“The Bring Back Eurotrains group is regularly contacted by residents in Kent and beyond who have been affected by the loss of this service and are concerned about the impact this is having on the region’s economy.

“We hope that we can help provide a collective voice for the residents and show any international rail service provider the substantial opportunities of running services that link the regional hub stations of Ashford and Ebbsfleet to Calais, Lille, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and beyond.”

The petition has also been backed by Ashford Borough Council (ABC), Dartford Borough Council (DBC) and Kent County Council.

Leader of ABC Cllr Noel Ovenden said: “Rail services at Ashford International Station are not only important for existing businesses and travellers, but they are also important for our future commercial investments.

“Significant investment has been made over the last 25 years in infrastructure to ensure international services are able to operate to support business and leisure travel to Europe, so it is imperative that the benefits of this investment are realised through services returning.

“With the valuable support of local residents and businesses, we will continue our fight to bring Eurostar services back.”

As well as the petition, more than 500 businesses have shared their views on the lack of international rail services and the impact is it having on trade in a survey.

KCC is asking for more business and trade leaders in Kent to contribute to give the campaign the best possible chance of success.

The survey will run until the end of December and should take about 10 minutes to complete.

The topic has also reached the House of Commons when Ashford MP Damian Green instigated a debate last month.

This received support from the Minister of State for Rail at the Department for Transport Huw Merriman, and MPs from across Kent, East Sussex and South London to find a resolution.

In September, Gareth Williams, Eurostar’s general secretary, said the firm wants to bring its services back to Kent - but the impact of Brexit and "hundreds of millions" of pounds of Covid debt means it cannot yet afford to.

The suspension of services means those travelling to the continent from Kent have to get to London St Pancras International before re-boarding and travelling back through the county and onwards through the Channel Tunnel.