LONDON: A further 800 military personnel have been sent to Kent to help thousands of lorry drivers waiting to cross into France on Christmas Day.
Some 1,100 troops have now been deployed as part of the operation at the English Channel border after French Covid-19 restrictions caused severe disruption at the Port of Dover.
Thousands of hauliers are spending Christmas Day in their cabs despite efforts to clear the backlog of lorries. Army personnel will be testing drivers for coronavirus and distributing food and water, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.
More than 700 hauliers have been cleared for departure since France reopened its border on Wednesday, and a chorus of beeping horns sounded at Dover on Christmas Eve as those at the front of the queue celebrated finally being able to leave. However, about 5,000 remain unable to get home yet, despite some progress in testing drivers in their vehicles at nearby Manston Airport, on a closed section of the M20, and in the town of Dover itself.
Some have already spent nearly a week stranded due to the diplomatic impasse.
Traffic was moving smoothly through Dover on Friday morning, with French firefighters drafted in to help test drivers.
Southeastern railway and Network Rail arranged for food to be delivered to drivers stuck in Operation Brock on the M20.
Seven trains carrying crates of food for the hauliers have left London in the past 48 hours, with the Salvation Army distributing the items.
France closed its border last Sunday following the discovery of a fast-spreading mutant Covid-19 strain in the UK. Drivers must now show proof of a negative coronavirus test result before crossing into the country.
The MoD said additional soldiers had been deployed on Friday as part of Operation Rose to support the 300 personnel already there.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said all but three of the 2,367 coronavirus tests issued to hauliers so far had been negative.