A dad says he's been left more than £2,000 out of pocket after missing a flight due to the chaos caused by protests at the Dartford Crossing.

Medway man Chris Armstrong was stuck on the M25 for more than six hours as protestors from Just Stop Oil shut down the QEII bridge.

The 58-year-old left his home in Wainscott at 2pm yesterday, expecting to fly to Bangkok from Stansted airport at 9.10pm.

He knew about the protests taking place at the Crossing, where protestors climbed up the QEII bridge and stayed there for more than 36 hours, and decided to leave a whole seven hours ahead of his flight to avoid any delays.

Speaking to KentOnline yesterday, he said: "Google Maps told me it was only an hour-and-a-half delay on the road and I thought, well, that's not too bad. I can handle that.

"My daughter drove me up and we got stuck on the A2 heading up towards Bluewater. At first we thought it was going to start moving, but it just got worse.

"Then we couldn't get off the road and from there we spent four hours trying to approach Dartford Crossing.

"There were lorries lined up on the hard shoulder and we couldn't move or go anywhere. It was mayhem.

"To the time we got onto the M25 through the tunnel and got up the M11 I had less than an hour left and they closed the departure gate.

"They wouldn't let me go. I got there at about 8pm but it was too late."

Mr Armstrong, who splits his time between Thailand and England, was forced to rebook his flights at a cost of £1,200.

"So I had to rebook the same two flights – one to Dubai and another to Bangkok – for the cost of £1,200, on top of the £945 I had already spent on the original ticket," he explained.

"I also paid an additional £140 to stay overnight at the airport. I didn't want to risk getting stuck in traffic again."

Mr Armstrong recalls feeling a mix of emotions when he realised his chances of flying to Dubai were close to none.

"It was just frustration and anger at these people," he said.

"I don't sympathise with these guys up on the bridge. I admire the determination to get across what they're trying to do, but that is as far as it goes.

"I think what they were doing is the wrong way because it was affecting common people like ourselves."

"Don't disrupt normal working people... aim it directly at the government"

"Just normal, everyday people going about their lives, going to work to feed their families, businesses that have struggled through Covid and are now losing money because they can't do anything. They're all stuck.

"So what went through in my mind when I'm sitting in traffic was mixed emotions of frustration and anger, if you like.

"My message to those people is don't disrupt normal working people and small businesses. If you want, aim it directly at the government, not the people, who are your friends, work colleagues, or your family. That is my message."