Ferries from Dover to Calais have been cancelled due to strike action in France but Operation Brock is not expected to be activated in Kent today.

There are delays of more than three hours at Eurotunnel in Folkestone as a result of ferries being cancelled and freight queuing outside the train terminal.

P&O Ferries announced this morning it will not be sailing throughout the day because the Port of Calais is closed due to the industrial action.

DFDS also runs to Calais but says it will be offering alternative services to its customers via its Dunkirk route today.

The strikes in Calais have forced the closure of the port between 8am and 5pm.

Last night, P&O Ferries said it would only be running eight ferries each way between Dover and Calais but that plan changed early this morning.

Similarly, DFDS warned that its services between Dover and Calais will be disrupted, while the only departure from Sheerness to Calais has been cancelled.

It said all its services to Dunkirk are operating to schedule.

A spokesman added that the company's ferries to and from Dunkirk will be unaffected by the strikes, but that the company would not be able to "honour time specific bookings".

"Due to National industrial action in France, on Thursday, January 19 between 8am and 5pm, there will be severe disruptions in the Port of Calais, which we understand will affect all operators," they said.

"This action will also cause disruption for the delivery and collection of unaccompanied trailers, for 24 hours, as there will be no access to the Unaccompanied Trailer Park.

"Please be assured that ALL departures between Dover and Dunkerque will be unaffected by the industrial action and will operate its normal schedule in order to support our valued customers.

"Please note that during the disruption we will be unable honour time specific bookings, and we will ship all traffic on a first come first served basis.

"Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused and be assured that we will continue to provide you with regular updates throughout the day."

A spokesman for P&O said: "We regret to inform you that sailings are currently suspended due to a National Day of Action in France. We expect this to last in 5pm"

Toby Howe, technical lead for the Kent Resilience Forum, said the Port of Dover has prepared for the strike action today including clearing freight during early sailings before the strikes started in France.

He said: "They are holding the freight in the port and filling the ferries ready for when they can depart again.

"It's likely TAP on the A20 between Folkestone and Dover will be implemented at some stage today.

"Other than that we're not seeing any issues on the Kent side at the moment."

Mr Howe said ferries are expected to start leaving at about 2pm ready to dock at Calais when the port is expected to reopen at 5pm.

He said this would "help mitigate the impact on the Kent roads" along with plans to run extra ferries overnight while he added Eurotunnel is also planning to run more trains tonight too.

Ferry companies have not taken bookings for today to reduce the number of people arriving at the port while Eurotunnel is operating as normal.

Speaking shortly after 10am, Mr Howe said there was "no intention to implement Operation Brock" on the M20.

This is where lorries are diverted on to the coastbound carriageway and other vehicles sent into a contraflow system at 50mph on the other side of the motorway between Ashford and Maidstone.

"We have other plans to hold traffic if necessary so it's likely just to be TAP," Mr Howe added.

"There may be some delays at Eurotunnels but usually lorries queues on the hard shoulder if there are.

"But there are no plans to introduce Brock today."