Traffic is flowing smoothly to the port of Dover today after Saturday's jams which saw miles of queues on the approaches to the town.

Thousands of people heading for the continent for Christmas, or just Christmas shopping - many of them without having made reservations - were said to be to blame.

Vehicles were at a standstill on the A20 between Dover and the Roundhill Tunnels at Folkestone.

There was also an increase in freight traffic and the first phase of Operation Stack was brought into use at 7am Saturday.

Traffic queues built up on the A2 route into Dover, with Jubilee Way at a standstill for part of the day.

"The port is extremely busy with tourist traffic and freight drivers wanting to get home before the festive period," said Kate O’Hara, head of commercial and marketing at the port.

"We are experiencing heavy volumes of tourist traffic, some day trippers going Christmas shopping and others going abroad for a holiday.

"A lot of the traffic is arriving unbooked, and once again we urge all customers to obtain a ferry reservation before setting out for the port."

~ Get up to date traffic reports at doverport.co.uk >>>