Transport chiefs say a backlog of lorries at Kent's ports is gradually being cleared after drivers suffered tailbacks on the motorway.

The last weekend before Christmas has seen high traffic volumes at the Port of Dover, meaning Dover TAP was activated, leading to queues earlier today of around three miles on the M20 J11 (Folkestone) and drivers warned to expect delays of up to two hours.

But teams say the situation is improving this evening and TAP is expected to be lifted later today with lorries backed up being put on to ferries at Dover.

A Kent Resilience Forum spokesperson said: “The weekend before Christmas is traditionally a busy time for freight as hauliers work to deliver goods and keep shop shelves stocked and it was made even busier by passengers wanting to get to France ahead of its new travel restrictions coming into force.

“KRF partners including Kent Police, National Highways and Kent County Council, have been working closely round-the-clock with Port of Dover and Eurotunnel to keep Kent moving as smoothly as possible and we’re pleased to report the situation on Kent’s cross-Channel routes continues to improve.

“Thanks to a lot of hard effort by both Port of Dover and Eurotunnel their services are flowing well. The Roundhill Tunnel has also re-opened and TAP20 is on track to be cleared of lorries by later today.

“As always, we urge people needing to drive in, or through, Kent to always check their route before they travel, allow plenty of time for their journey and be prepared for delays. While hauliers are among those exempt from the new rules for entering France, it is important everyone checks the latest requirements to ensure they comply.”

The A20 was closed coastbound for local/tourist traffic between the M20 J13 (Folkestone) and the A260 (Hawkinge), to prevent queuing traffic in Roundhill Tunnel but reopened for all traffic shortly after 2.30pm.

Congestion on approach to the A20 led to traffic queues tailing back to J11 on the M20.

There is a diversion in place for local traffic, which must exit the M20 at J13 and join the A259 (Churchill Avenue) and travel east towards the A260 Canterbury Road, before turning onto the A260 towards Spitfire Way roundabout junction at Hawkinge and then re-joining the A20 coastbound at the roundabout.

The closure has also led to a knock-on effect of long tailbacks in Folkestone.

One resident, Gemma Greening, said it had led to chaos and delays of around 40 minutes for local drivers: "Local traffic can't move."

Lorry drivers were facing waits of up to 90 minutes at Eurotunnel and there are delays of an hour on DFDS Seaways between Dover and Calais due to more passengers and extra security checks.

DFDS says more than 7,500 passengers crossed the Channel from Dover between midnight on Friday and 4am on Saturday when the new travel restrictions came into force in France.

The ferry operator said it received three times more calls and four times more bookings on Thursday than the previous day before the announcement by the French government.

Filip Hermann, vice-president and head of Channel routes at DFDS, said: “We saw very high volumes of traffic yesterday and this, combined with the need to check all required documentation, meant that there were queues at the port.

"We worked closely with the Port of Dover and both UK and French border authorities to enable as many people as possible to get away before the deadline.

“We are sorry for any long waits experienced by customers at the port yesterday evening and thank our staff in our contact centres, at the ports and onboard our ships, who worked very hard to get customers to their destinations for Christmas. All customers were offered a free meal on their crossing.”

There were also queues at the port yesterday due to the French travel ban coming in to force today.

Guidance on the travel restrictions imposed by France is available via the French Embassy website.