More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
More pizzas, curries and snacks are winging their way to stranded truckers courtesy of Gravesend's Sikh community and Domino's Pizza.
Hundreds of HGV drivers are currently stuck in Operation Stack which has seen queues of lorries on the M20 and at Manston Airport.
Pictures of their plight in increasingly colder conditions with few washing facilities and no guarantee of a hot meal have been beamed to audiences around the world.
Earlier this week, the Gravesend Gurdwara rallied together to deliver hundreds of curry and pasta meals to stranded drivers with the help of Sikh humanitarian charity Khalsa Aid.
They are resuming their efforts today and are preparing 1,000 hot meals from their Langar community kitchen, in addition to samosas, spring rolls and some non-perishable snacks.
And now other members of the local Sikh community are pulling together their own resources to come to the aid of truckers with 1,000 Domino's pizzas delivered roadside yesterday and thousands more on their way today.
Gravesend businessman Dip Dhillon runs multiple Domino's pizza franchises – including many across the county – which helped with the effort.
When he learnt of the plight of the drivers and the efforts being made by the Sikh community he says he felt morally compelled to act.
"I was watching the news when I saw what they were going through," said Mr Dhillon. "I picked up the phone to Ravinder Singh [who is leading Khalsa's response] and said is there anything I can do to help?
"Christmas is coming and I want to get those guys home to their families."
The Gravesend Gurdwara is resuming its efforts to help stranded truckers in Kent
But Mr Dhillon adds in the meantime getting them some hot food will help ease their suffering.
The pizza boss enlisted the help of nearby Domino's shops to make 200 pizzas each and he then coordinated their efforts with Khalsa Aid to deliver them to the motorway roadside with the help of a Kent Police escort.
Mr Dhillon says the response from the truckers has been heartwarming.
"Some people when we opened the door to give them a pizza were really happy," he said.
"When we finished yesterday we realised we didn't have enough. So we are going to go further and deliver 2,500 pizzas today."
But while it was nice to rouse a smile from drivers, many of whom are now likely to be apart from their families for Christmas, Mr Dhillon and his team also described the poor conditions some were subject to.
He adds many of the toilets were overflowing and some truckers were without sanitizers and had not been able to wash for two or three days now.
Mr Dhillon's friend Satinder Hayre, also helped deliver the pizzas roadside where he observed the conditions.
He said: "One of the drivers was quite tearful. He didn't have very good English.
"He could not go to the toilet, that is the kind of conditions they are in.
"When he told me it was like wow.... Christmas is a side issue. These are basic human rights they are being deprived of."
A group of inventive villagers from Mersham near Ashford have also been using ropes and bags for life to deliver goods including beans, fruit and sweets to stranded lorry drivers.
Meanwhile, at Manston Airport drivers are waiting to receive a lateral flow test for Covid-19 before they can safely move on.
For those inside the lorry park, they are one small step closer to getting home in the coming days, but the wait will be even longer for those hundreds still stuck on the roads surrounding the airport.
Hauliers, some of whom have been sounding their horns in frustration, are then joining queues down in Dover.
Highways England is still urging all motorists to avoid travelling to the county due to huge disruption.
