A Dover councillor has called for traffic to be diverted away from the M20 and down the M2/A2 while major re-surfacing work is being carried out in the town.

The entire stretch of the A20 from Dover's Eastern Docks to the Western Heights roundabout is being re-surfaced in a 15-week project. This involves single carriageway closures during the day, and complete road closures at night, with various diversions being set up depending on which section of road is being worked on.

Now Cllr Nigel Collor is calling on the Highways Agency to "bite the bullet" and divert traffic onto the A2 as a matter of course.

He is also asking for Operation Stack to be implemented when heavy congestion is expected through previous traffic statistics.

He said: "It is not too late to reconsider previous decisions and speak with those of us with local knowledge of the roads and truck movements that we see daily."

Cllr Collor said Dover town centre was heavily congested on Tuesday with traffic queuing back to the Round Hill tunnels at Folkestone and queues on the old Folkestone to Dover road - now part of the one of the diversions.

"There were also, I am informed, lorries blocking the Dover High Street junction with Ladywell trying to turn right to take an impossible route to the port - possibly due to a signing issue where improved signing needs to be looked at with some urgency," he said.

"Last evening I was stopped by a lorry driver at the Castle Street traffic signals who just said ‘Ferry’. Even with my grasp of local knowledge it was not possible to help him as he needed to go through the Market Square to join the A256 northbound and onto Whitfield before returning towards the port via the A2 and Jubilee Way.

“We must avoid the use of the steep and very unsuitable A258, Castle Hill Road, at all costs."