Three miles in 11 hours: Wolverhampton families' Dover 'nightmare'

Journeys took up to 30 hours, families were forced to sleep in their cars and emergency water supplies were handed out to those in the gridlock. It came after French authorities tightened up security checks, but apparently cut back on border staff.

The situation eased last night after more British staff stepped in. But authorities say the extra checks after terror attacks in France will continue over the summer, possibly leading to futher large-scale delays.

Matt Westwood, from Wolverhampton, was among those on his way to his holiday in France.

The journey eventually took 30 hours and at one point he drove just three miles in 11 hours.

Mr Westwood said that at 8am on Saturday he had not moved for seven hours. By the time his journey was complete, it was 5am yesterday morning.

He said: "Finally arrived at our place in France, just 30 hours to get here."

Multiple sclerosis sufferer Tanya Cudworth, from Staffordshire, had a journey to Dover that took 20 hours.

The 50-year-old, who works for Marston's, was travelling to a Frankfurt clinic to undergo stem cell treatment after raising £5,000 for the trip. She described the journey as 'absolutely horrendous'.

Andrew Birch, from Wolverhampton, said: "We're supposed to be on holiday in France. Left home at 7pm and had a clear run until ten miles outside Dover. We joined the queue at 11.20pm because of delays caused by extra French security and only got to Dover at 6.15am.

"The extra security didn't even check our passports. Burger King here was closed and Costa Coffee was 50 people deep and only two serving."

Dave Shucksmith, of Willenhall, said yesterday: "Dover was a nightmare – 10-mile gridlock. I feel sorry for the people at back of the queue. We landed at Calais – and an empty motorway."

Margot James, MP for Stourbridge, said: "I feel so sorry for people caught up in it. It is a really bad start to the summer holiday."

The new leader of Walsall Council, Sean Coughlan, warned of economic repercussions for haulage firms, saying: "Any blockage has a real knock-on effect. It's not good for the transport company delivering the goods and can be a problem for the businesses receiving them."

West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge, added: "It needs to be made very clear to our friends on the continent that we expect business as usual and attempts to make a point at our expense will not be tolerated."

But Xavier Czerwinski, of the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, said that border agents were required to 'check all vehicles rigorously' under the current state of emergency.

Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham accused the Government of being 'caught ill-prepared once again', warning the Prime Minister should have expected heightened security checks in France.

Following a day of disruption the Home Office announced late on Saturday that it would be sending the UK Border Force to help French border police, and said police would be 'proactively managing traffic' to get people moving.

Highways England said they had been working hard to keep people informed of progress on their routes.

Some of those caught in jams had complained they were waiting in queues with little knowledge of when they might reach their destination. A spokesman said: "We sympathise with people trapped in the traffic. We are working with our partners around the clock to minimise the delays as far as possible.

"Our electronic message signs are warning of the delays all the way up to the Midlands, we are tweeting and have issued press releases to local and national media.

"We urge people to plan their journeys and check before setting out."