CREDITOR banks are believed to be waiting to see if the new French-dominated Eurotunnel board has a credible plan to run the Channel Tunnel before taking control themselves.

Banks and other institutions are owed a massive £6.4bn and are receiving legal advice on whether to wrest control from the new directors.

Analysts say that the banks were relatively comfortable with the previous board and its Project Galaxie plans.

But the shock removal of the old board in an unprecedented corporate coup d’etat has made them uncomfortable.

Seizing control from the new board has not been ruled out, but experts believe they will give new bosses the breathing space to work out a new strategy.

A new business plan has to be filed by October, but creditors and their advisors are expected to hold emergency talks with the new directors on April 14.

A banker involved in restructuring Eurotunnel's debt told a national newspaper: "We are watching the performance very carefully.

“This is a seriously dangerous piece of kit and if there is the slightest hint that it is not being run correctly, then the creditors will step in."

Meanwhile, the Government is said to be concerned about the security risks to the tunnel posed by a new board.

However, a Eurotunnel source said that while there was considerable uncertainty among staff at Cheriton about the future direction of the company, there was no change to the existing local management structure.

Managers would be running the Channel Tunnel just as they had before the events of April 7. "The tunnel is still open, it's not going to close, it's business as usual," the source said.