People attempting to cross The Channel have been stuck in coaches for hours as problems with border processing at the Port of Dover continue for a third day.

Some travellers are reporting waits of up to 19 hours, with children on school trips among those caught up in the delays.

In a statement released at 10.15am, the Port of Dover said it remained "deeply frustrated" by the continuing situation.

"The Port of Dover has been working round the clock with the ferry operators and border agencies to get coach passengers on their way, with extra sailings being put on overnight to help clear the backlog," it said.

"Over 300 coaches departed the port on Saturday, with all of the freight backlog cleared and tourist cars processed successfully.

"There remain pockets of coaches still waiting to be processed with smaller volumes of coaches expected today.

"The Port remains deeply frustrated by the continuing situation caused by a mix of lengthy immigration processes at the border and sheer volume of traffic, particularly on behalf of those who have waited for such a long time.

"Minimal freight is expected today and so the focus remains on ensuring all partners work to get the remaining coaches and other tourist traffic on its way as soon as possible.

"We continue to offer our sincere apologies for the prolonged delays."

Among those delayed was Gillian Charlton's son, Ned, 13, who is on a school trip.

She was critical of P&O for what she described as "greedy overselling".

At 12.38pm, she tweeted: "They are ON THE FERRY at last!!! Following a delay at #Doverport for almost 20 hours my son and his school friends are finally boarded and once again have access to food, water and their sanity!

"Still massively disgusted with @POferries for their greedy overselling #DoverDelays."

Earlier this morning, the Port said it hoped to clear the backlog by lunchtime and issued an update saying border processing times for coaches remained three to four hours.

But many criticised the post, pointing out it did not take into account the fact people had been waiting for several hours in queues outside the port.

Kaeti Morrison tweeted: "At least be honest with the wait times. My son's school trip arrived around midday Sat, told to go wait at the services.

"Finally got on the 0440 ferry this morning!!! That's approx 16hrs!!!!!"

Abbie Warren posted: "When will coaches that arrived at 5pm are are sat in a Carpark outside of post actually enter port? This is a disgrace."

At 6.30am, P&O Ferries warned its passengers the wait was five to six hours.

It tweeted: "We apologise for the wait times in Dover this morning. The current wait at the entrance to the Port of Dover is approximately 5-6 hours.

"Once coaches reach our check in desks they will be on the next crossing to Calais."

Severe delays at Dover continued yesterday after the port declared a critical incident over the long waits.

The problems started on Friday evening when schoolchildren were reportedly left without food for more than five hours.

P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways reported delays to ferry and coach services, citing bad weather and hold-ups at French border controls as partly responsible for waits and queues.

The Port of Dover has apologised for the problems, which come at the start of the school Easter holidays.

Cate Webb-Jones's son and his classmates were caught up in the long delays, arriving at their accommodation in France nearly 24 hours after leaving at 5am on Friday.

The frustrated mother said: "The lack of updates, the lack of assurance re contingency measures were woeful.

"I was told my sons coach had a bottle of water provided for each pupil. A school teacher and pupil in the end walked to a local pizza place and carried 10 boxes between them back to the coach to share amongst the 30 passengers.

"At 9pm I tweeted P&O and asked when they would declare the situation as a critical incident and then an hour later it was declared. But what additional resources and contingency plans were then put in place?

Dover MP Natalie Elphicke (Con) expressed her dismay at the situation. She said: "Incredibly disappointing to see French border control problems once again adding to traffic mayhem just as families are trying to getaway for the Easter holidays.

"There has been huge disruption for Dover’s Aycliffe residents today too - facing a night of noisy lorries queuing outside their homes yet again."