Dover ferry passengers warned of long delays

A critical incident has been declared at Dover, as coach passengers face "lengthy delays" at the start of the Easter getaway due to bad weather and long processing times in France.

Around 70 coaches were waiting at the port to be processed early on Saturday, a port official told the BBC.

One passenger said he had been told to expect delays of up to 14 hours.

An earlier port statement said other tourist traffic and freight vehicles were moving "as usual" for peak times.

P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways also reported delays to Channel ferry crossings - with DFDS saying strong winds were adding to the problem.

In its Friday evening update, the port apologised for the "lengthy delays" to journeys and said it was "working hard" with ferry operators and other partners to resolve the issues.

Coach companies were urged to contact their chosen ferry operators to get the latest information.

Passengers complained that they had spent Friday stranded, with one parent tweeting that they and their children - who arrived via coach at midday - were still waiting for a place on a ferry at 21:00 BST.

Student Oliver Quigley-Brown, who was travelling to France for a university ski trip, told the BBC he had been warned he faced a delay of 10 hours on top of the four he had already waited.

He said he had seen "a lot of stressed teachers" at the port, estimating there could be "thousands" of people from school and university groups stuck there.

Authorities had provided them with snacks and water, Mr Quigley-Brown said, but he added: "I don't they'd anticipated the kind of delays we're seeing."

P&O Ferries confirmed in a tweet at 21:00 that it was providing refreshments to passengers waiting in the buffer zone at the entrance of the port.

DFDS UK also tweeted that services to France were running with severe delays, and that passengers would be transferred to "the first available departure".

A spokesperson for P&O said the queues were "a result of bad weather causing delays to sailings, combined with high volumes of traffic, and particularly coach groups".

"We apologise for the wait times and have put on an extra sailing this evening to help clear the backlog," it added.

As well as the situation at Dover, there are fears of disrupted Easter getaways due to strikes affecting London's Heathrow Airport.

Hundreds of security officers in the Unite union have begun 10 days of industrial action over pay - though the airport said it was operating "as normal" on Friday.