The daily record for vehicles travelling on Eurotunnel Le Shuttle was broken three times in August in a month when the cross-Channel link reached a series of milestones.

Traffic surged to more than 16,000 vehicles for the first time, peaking at 16,416, beating the previous record set in the same month last summer.

More than 85,400 vehicles were carried in one week – another record – which is thought to have been helped by poor weather dissuading travellers from maritime routes.

However, its success comes as the Port of Dover also reported a promising summer, with 2.3m tourists passing through the port, up 2.5%.

Eurotunnel carried 665,400 cars, vans, bikes and coaches in July and August, an increase of 4%.

Numbers surged in August to 375,000 vehicles as the school holidays kicked in.

It also carried 20,209 pets during the month, including 1,058 cats, the first time it has carried more than 1,000.

Eurotunnel commercial director Jo Willacy said: “More than 85,400 vehicles in seven days in the middle of the month is something we have never seen before in all our 20 years of operation.

“Our daily priority is serving our customers and so it’s a big thank you to them for this remarkable achievement.”

The Port of Dover remains Europe’s busiest international port, with £89bn of trade handled and 13m passenger each year.

Port of Dover chief executive Tim Waggott said: “This has been a really strong summer for the Port of Dover’s ferry operations.

“We are seeing significant growth in the number of passengers using the ferry terminal and this year’s figures are even more satisfying as we continue the revitalisation of the port.

“Ferries from Dover have been creating the perfect start to family vacations in Europe for generations. It is great to see that they still are.”