Some of the UK’s main transport links to the continent have been cut after protesters in Calais “broke into” the Channel tunnel, prompting all Eurotunnel services to be suspended for safety reasons, reports The Guardian.
A wildcat strike by French ferry workers had already caused the cancellation of cross-channel ferry services, leaving the south of England without its two transport routes to northern France.
The ensuing chaos led to long tailbacks on both sides of the Channel and in Calais hundreds of migrants attempted to break into stationary cars and lorries as they waited on gridlocked motorways.
Donald Armour, the Freight Transport Association’s international manager, said his organisation was “really, really worried” about someone getting seriously hurt.
“There is a lot of fighting between the migrants, who all want to be on the best part of the road to get on to the lorries,” he said.
The strike, which started at 3.50am on Tuesday, is due to last until 8pm. Employees of the French ferry company MyFerryLink are protesting against plans to sell two of their ferries to the rival firm DFDS.
Paula Brady, from Shrewsbury, was stuck in a hotel in Calais with her husband, Bill, after they found the ferry terminal blocked.
They said there was no way off the motorway once they reached the port and, after finding themselves on the road to Belgium, they turned back to Calais.
“When we started going back there was just queues of traffic and all these migrants were just sat on the side of the road,” she said.