Businesses in Dover have told how they were badly hit by the weekend's traffic chaos.

People living in the town either changed their plans, usually by giving up driving that day, or used country lanes that were not clogged up by cars and lorries heading for the Eastern Docks.

But traders said their businesses were affected by customers unable to reach them.

Bernard Scott, owner of Cherry Tree Plumbing supplies in Cherry Tree Avenue, Dover, said: "The first two people to come into the shop on Saturday were not customers but people stuck in the traffic asking to use the toilet.

"One lady who was also stuck said she needed to get to the port in eight minutes. I told her she probably wouldn't get there in eight hours.

"Business that day was absolutely abysmal because nobody could get here as the roads were absolutely jam packed.

"I think somebody should get their act together and stop the lorries coming into town."

The neighbouring Flooring Solutions shop, which sells carpeting, vinyl and wooden floorboards, simply closed for all of Saturday.

Shopkeeper Barbara said: "My manager rang me and said there was no point in coming in, I live in Whitfield and there was no way I could have got in anyway.

"So we lost business for an entire day. This keeps happening yet there is parking for lorries at Manston and Ashford. So why do Dover residents keep having to suffer?

"Someone is not doing their job properly."

Tony Drew, manager of Ann and Pam's florist a few doors away, said: "It was an absolute nightmare.

"Residents were shouting at drivers."

"But we coped because when we had to drive we used the back roads through places like Hougham and Guston."

Mr Drew's business is around the corner from the A256 Barton Road, one of the arterial routes into the town centre, which was completely blocked.

He said: "That's a two-lane road and both lanes were taken up by lorries.

"Residents there were angry and shouting at the drivers but it wasn't their fault.

"The council and the police need to do something about this."

Electrician Mark Lorito, who lives in Cherry Tree Avenue, cancelled work that Saturday. He said: "It wouldn't have been worth it. It was chaos on the roads.

"Local drivers went all over the place trying to get around the stuck traffic."

Mark Smith, manager at O'Brien Butchers in London Road, said: "Trade was 40% down that Saturday.

"We were also meant to make deliveries of meat to pubs but couldn't.

"Our delivery driver took an hour and a half to get from Whitfield to this shop.

"I'd heard that people were getting out of their cars at Buckland Avenue and Barton Road to chat to each other because they couldn't move at all. It was just crazy."

Steve Davies, a resident at Beanconsfield Avenue, said: "I had to go to Canterbury that Saturday and on my return I got through by the back roads. It was the only way."

Because road snarl-ups from port traffic happen so often, Dover residents have learned to regularly tear up and redraw their plans to adapt.

Many sit it out at home, simply walk or can take the train as there is the advantage of three lines to London, to St Pancras, Charing Cross and Victoria. These stop at most main Kent towns.

If they have to drive their local knowledge takes them to the network of back country roads, as happened this weekend, which are too narrow for lorries and which outsiders in cars are unfamiliar with.

Today, Dover MP Natalie Elphicke, Kent County Council leader Cllr Roger Gough and Dover District Council leader Cllr Trevor Bartlett held an emergency meeting with Baroness Vere, the roads minister, in Parliament, to discuss the problems.

She committed to reviewing Dover TAP and the Kent-wide response following the chaos.

The source of the problem this time was a combination of bad weather, a surge in passenger demand because of the Easter break and a shortage of ferries.

All Dover P&O Ferries vessels have been out of action since the mass sackings on March 17 and one DFDS ship has just had storm damage.

The most common causes at other times have been ferry schedules held up by violent storms or French workers going on strike in Calais.

Some past clog-ups have also been on a massive scale.

In the summer of 2015 vehicles were delayed through Operation Stack over 32 days because of asylum seekers getting into the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone and French port workers going on strike.

Some drivers then got to Dover on a long detour via Romney Marsh but were able to keep moving

In July 2016 port-bound traffic was held up for up to 12 hours because of too few staff at Dover-based French border controls.

It happened again in the week up to Christmas 2020 when the French closed their borders to keep out the Delta variant of Covid-19.

In many such cases lorry and car drivers desperate to get to the port seep into the town's other arterial roads, such as the B2011 Folkestone Road, and the A256 Barton Road and Maison Dieu Road and clog them up too.