An angry trader is behind a campaign to help Dover after she suffered a huge loss in sales because of Operation Stack.

Jen Sutton, the owner of Country Brides of Faversham in Castle Street, started a petition last week. It calls for a long-term solution to prevent Dover from being cut off when Stack comes into force.

The petition is going to the Department for Transport and gained nearly 500 signatures in a week.

Ms Sutton told the Mercury: “I lost a total of around £4,000 worth of sales, as brides were worried this would happen all the time, and they wouldn’t be able to get to me. They went to buy their gowns elsewhere.”

Ms Sutton, who lives in Whitfield, is campaigning on behalf of all traders, whose takings have now been hit three separate times since December.

She added: “It’s making it harder for businesses. We can’t turn to our landlords and say ‘sorry, port traffic is more important than our customers, so I can’t pay the rent’.”

The weekend before Christmas saw a sudden influx of traffic, then this month has seen the roads congested due to weather conditions and delays at Eurotunnel in Folkestone following a fire.

She added: “I think Dover deserves some joined-up thinking and to be told what is going on behind the scenes to stop all this hassle.

'I think Dover deserves some joined-up thinking and to be told what is going on behind the scenes to stop all this hassle.' - Jen Sutton

“It’s frustrating, and it’s not fair. It’s not fair on the lorry drivers who are just trying to do their job, it’s not fair on the locals who are just trying to get along with theirs.

“And it’s not good enough – nothing seems to be coming from the port or the police about how this is going to be fixed, and what the long-term solutions are.”

She has called for Dover town and district councillors to join the fight and for MP Charlie Elphicke to back her campaign.

“I think our MPs, and elected councillors should be taking this fight to whoever will listen.”

Mr Elphicke said: “I welcome this petition. I would be delighted to present it to the ministers. For too long people in the Dover district have been subjected to Operation Stack. It is totally unfair.

“We need lorry parks to be built urgently. They should be paid for by the lorry levy paid by foreign truckers together with Eurotunnel and the port and port users of Dover.”

To sign the petition, residents have until Monday, March 30. Visit: epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/74020