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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Abigail O'Leary

Huge Dover lorry queue so long you can see it on Google Maps amid Brexit check delays

Lorry queues from the Port of Dover are now so long the huge tailbacks are appearing on Google satellite images.

Images from space show hundreds of lorries lining the roads around the port after months of chaos delaying crossings.

The delays are being blamed on extra controls which have come into place following Brexit.

Port chiefs have urged the UK Government to hold talks with the EU on ways to ease further checks which are set to come into force later this year.

It is feared the added checks could be "disastrous" for the already chaotic situation.

One courier said he had been caught up in queues of up to 15km since full customs controls came into force at beginning of January, reports The Independent.

Queues have been blamed on Brexit checks - which are set to increase later this year (Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)

The British haulier each driver was having to undergo around 20 minutes of checks before being allowed to pass.

He said: "It’s entirely Brexit – you can’t blame it on anything else but Brexit,” said the driver, who has had to push back some deliveries.

The Dover TAP, a temporary traffic system to prevent a build-up in lorry traffic, was brought in amid tailbacks.

The TAP has also put in place a 40mph speed restriction for all vehicles approaching the port.

Drivers have been left waiting for hours in their lorries as checks delay crossings (Getty Images)

Covid checks are also taking up time at the port - with Chief Executive saying more lateral flow tests are needed for staff.

Bannister told the BBC : "The Government has made lateral flow capacity available to some key areas. They haven't stepped as deeply into our operations as we'd like them to."

He said port workers had "maintained the operations and the critical flow of goods into the nation" over the past two years and the port needs to be "better prepared".

He added daily tests would ensure the port has "the right complements of the people on the ground to facilitate travel".

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