Travellers warned of FOUR HOUR delays at Dover as French authorities step up security checks
Huge queues expected around Kent dock as terror checks are ramped up
TRAVELLERS could face four hour queues for passport control at Dover amid extra French security checks.
Chunnel ferry passengers have been warned it could take a long time to pass through the port as border police ramp up security after the Nice attacks last week.
People passing through the Kent port are being told to leave plenty of time for their journey as hellish jams are backing up into the surrounding roads.
The A20 was bogged down this morning with holidaymakers, daytippers and freight traffic.
DFDS Seaways advised passengers to allow “at least three hours” to get through passport control, while port officials urge you to listen to your radio for live updates.
The Sun Online has learned the extra security checks will continue for at least six weeks.
The delays caused outrage on social media.
Lauren Ellen queued for two and a half hours.
She said: "The queue at Dover is ridiculous just want to get to Belgium."
One Twitter user posted: "Terrible PR for the French authorities. I appreciate the need to protect the border but clearly all tourist not terrorists."
Another wrote: ";Three hours to clear the Port of Dover?! Busy: yes. Extra passport checks: OK. But THREE hours?!"
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A Port of Dover spokesman said: "Due to ongoing heightened French security checks, the Port of Dover is advising customers to allow plenty of time for their journey.
“Local traffic may wish to consider using alternative routes where possible to avoid queuing traffic."
France has been under a state of emergency since the terrorist attack in Paris last November left 130 people dead.
This week the country's National Assembly voted to extend it by six months.
The vote followed last week's Bastille Day lorry attack by Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who left 84 people dead when he drove through crowds on Nice's Promenade des Anglais.
Highways England said: "French border police at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel continue to follow French government requirements to deliver heightened security checks to keep the traveling public safe following the recent attacks in France.
"It is expected that the M20/A20 and M2/A2 approaches will be busy for tourist, freight and local traffic.
With the summer getaway approaching, it is expected that cross-Channel gateways will be busy."
The Port of Dover sees more than 13 million passengers pass through every year.
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