A SUSPICIOUS vehicle which drove off a cross-Channel ferry at Dover caused major traffic jams around the port this morning. Police and Customs officers became aware of the vehicle at 5.30am and bomb disposal officers were called to investigate but they found nothing of interest to them.

A 50-metre exclusion zone was set up around the Customs Hall at the Eastern Docks, which effectively closed the port to incoming traffic. This brought traffic to a standstill on all roads leading to the port. The A20 from Folkestone, A2 from Canterbury, A258 from Deal and A256 from Sandwich into Dover were all blocked.

Traffic arriving at the port from the Continent was not affected and the ferries ran normally. The incident lasted two hours and the port re-opened at about 8.30am.

Police have given no more details of why the vehicle was regarded as suspicious, but they say an investigation is underway.