Category Archives: Kent

Anger of 10,000 lorry drivers ‘held hostage’ in Covid Christmas standoff

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Hauliers stranded in their cabs on UK roads say they are being used as political pawns

Juan Andrés had braced himself for what promised to be an atypical holiday season. But the lorry driver from southern Spain never imagined that Christmas Day would be spent in his cab tucking into a ham and cheese sandwich – among provisions handed out by the British military – as he inched towards the Channel.

“I would describe it as a kidnapping,” said the 52-year-old when asked about the diplomatic impasse that left him stranded on British roads for nearly a week. As many as 10,000 lorries from across Europe were stuck after France temporarily closed its border over fears of a fast-spreading coronavirus variant, reopening only to those drivers who could show a negative coronavirus test.

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Kent volunteers make pizzas and hot meals for stranded lorry drivers – video

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A Kent football team made 200 pizzas and delivered them to stranded lorry drivers on the M20 and Manston airport on Tuesday night.

Hot meals were also provided by a Sikh charity and delivered by Gravesend's Gurdwara Sikh community as thousands of lorry drivers waited for information after France closed its border with the UK for fear of a new variant of Covid-19

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Lorry drivers clash with police as tensions boil over in Dover – video

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Frustrated drivers scuffled with police at the entrance to the port of Dover on Wednesday morning, amid anger at the continued partial closure of the French border. Paris and London agreed late on Tuesday that drivers who tested negative for Covid could board ferries for Calais from Wednesday, but there was anger among hauliers stuck in huge queues in Kent at the speed of the rollout of testing facilities

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Kent lorry park will not be ready in time for Brexit day deadline

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Heavy rain has hampered work on site intended to relieve queues around Dover from 1 January

The Kent lorry park designed to relieve queues of up to 7,000 trucks taking goods across the Channel will not be ready for Brexit on 1 January, it has emerged.

Damian Green, the MP for Ashford, said the government told him rain had hampered work on the site between the villages of Sevington and Mersham, fuelling fears of traffic queues around the county for the first two months of the year.

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Post-Brexit lorry queues could make Kent ‘toilet of England’

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Campaigners warn that roads and laybys are already littered with urine and excrement

Kent could become the “toilet of England” in less than eight weeks unless dedicated loos are provided for thousands of lorry drivers who could be held up in the county for hours by post-Brexit border checks, campaigners have warned.

They say Kent’s main roads and laybys are already littered with bottles of urine and bags of excrement and the problem could become much worse after 31 December.

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Body thought to be asylum seeker found on beach near Calais

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French authorities believe the man may have been trying to get to the Kent coast

The body of a suspected asylum seeker who may have been attempting to reach the Kent coast has been discovered on a beach just outside Calais, according to French authorities.

A dead man, aged between 20 and 40, was reportedly wearing an orange life jacket when he was found on the shores of Sangatte, in northern France, on Sunday morning.

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‘Cutting it tight’: Dover port still awaiting Brexit infrastructure funds

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Head of EU exit at the port says money needs to be ‘issued rather than talked about’

Dover port is not Brexit ready because it is still waiting for government funds to be released for vital infrastructure for the new border operations, it has been revealed.

It comes as it emerged that the government was considering forcing drivers to obtain a special Brexit passport before entering Kent in a bid to avert queuing chaos in January.

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Folkestone charities fear far right will target asylum seeker base

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Refugee groups urge ministers to ensure safety of 400 people housed in barracks

The people of Folkestone have become used to the sound of helicopters buzzing over their heads at night, as authorities scour the waters off the south coast for asylum seekers crossing the Channel on small boats.

September has become the busiest month on record for migrant Channel crossings, while more than 6,500 have made the journey this year – more than three times the total in 2019. The sight of new arrivals, some in flimsy dinghies and using spades as oars, has become an almost daily occurrence.

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Boat migrants to be housed in former barracks in Kent

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Around 400 people to be housed in Kent as UK deals with record levels of arrivals crossing Channel

Migrants who have crossed the Channel in small boats are to be housed in former military barracks while their asylum claims are processed, it has emerged.

Around 400 people including families are to be housed in temporary accommodation at Napier Barracks near Folkestone, Kent, from 21 September, MP Damian Collins said.

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Channel swimmer found 500 metres off Dover after eight-hour search

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Coastguard confirms swimmer is well and he will be checked over by ambulance staff

A nearly eight-hour search for a person trying to swim from Dover to Calais unaccompanied has ended after he was spotted by a passing vessel.

Emergency services launched a major operation to try to locate the male swimmer, who was eventually found just 500 metres off Dover.

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Number of migrants crossing Channel in boats passes 5,000

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UK pursues ‘militarised’ response despite calls for safe routes for asylum seekers

The number of migrants who have crossed the Channel in small boats this year has passed 5,000, analysis shows, as the UK government continues to pursue a “militarised” response to the growing numbers.

A further five people arrived in England on Friday, risking their lives in force 8 gales, rain showers and rough seas. It is understood the five men presented themselves as Sudanese and Chadian nationals, and were brought into Dover to be questioned by immigration officials.

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UK weather: heatwave to continue before ‘severe thunderstorms’ roll in

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The mercury is set to hit 35C in Kent and Sussex on Sunday before thunderstorms arrive early in the week

Many Britons are set to bask in another hot day, with temperatures well above 30C.

The mercury looks set to reach as high as 35C on Sunday – with Kent, Sussex and parts of London being the most likely to see the warmest temperatures, according to Met Office forecaster Craig Snell.

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Public told to avoid four ‘unmanageable’ Kent beaches

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Crowds far exceed lifeguards’ capacity as coastguard records busiest day for four years

Holidaymakers in Kent have been asked to avoid four of the county’s beaches after fears some have become “unmanageable” due to the number of visitors.

The coastguard had its busiest day in more than four years on Friday – when the UK recorded its third hottest day on record – dealing with 329 incidents. Local authorities have expressed concern that there are not enough lifeguards as crowds swell.

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UK to open 10-12 Brexit border customs sites in EU trading shake-up

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New border checks in Kent and elsewhere reverse 47 years of removal of trade barriers

The UK government is to build “10 to 12” new Brexit border customs and controls sites across the country in a move that Michael Gove has said cements the mission to “take back control” from the EU.

In the biggest shake-up to trading with the EU for 50 years, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced the £470m programme for facilities to process freight going to and from the EU, along with a 206-page document detailing new border controls.

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‘You can’t furlough an otter’: why one family-run zoo remains shut – video

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Andy Cowell runs the Fenn Bell Conservation Project in Medway, Kent. After 12 weeks of closure, as running costs mounted, zoos were suddenly told with less than a week’s notice that they could reopen on Monday to reduced visitors. But smaller zoos such as Fenn Bell have had to spend funds they barely had just to create space for visitors to visit safely, and Cowell is still a couple of weeks away from being ready. He tells Richard Sprenger why he is so angry at how the situation has been handled and fears the possibility of having to euthanise his animals 

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Family’s lockdown adaptation of Les Misérables song goes viral – video

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A family from Kent who shared a video of their living room performance of a lockdown-themed adaptation of a Les Misérables song have become a sensation online. Ben and Danielle Marsh and their four children changed the lyrics of One Day More to reflect common complaints during the Covid-19 lockdown. They say the video, which has gone viral, was intended to give friends and family a laugh during this stressful time

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UK police chiefs: coronavirus could bring out worst in humanity

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Warning after crimes including theft of oxygen canisters and puncturing of ambulance tyres

Police chiefs have warned the coronavirus pandemic could “bring out the worst in humanity” after a spate of opportunistic crimes hindered efforts to control the crisis.

The theft of oxygen canisters from a hospital, the puncturing of ambulance tyres and the raiding of food banks by thieves were among the “worrying isolated incidents” in recent days raised by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

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The child refugees risking the Channel by boat – one year on

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Kent youth asylum seeker charity has seen a 50% rise in demand for its services since December 2018

Bridget Chapman, who swims regularly in the Channel, wasn’t surprised when desperate asylum seekers began travelling to the UK on small dinghy boats last year. On a clear day she can see France’s coastline from where she lives in Folkestone, Kent. “If you’re stuck in Calais and you can see the British coast quite clearly, it must be really tempting to think: I’ll just get a boat,” she said.

It has been a year since the then home secretary, Sajid Javid, declared the increasing number of migrants attempting to cross the Channel a “major incident”, but boat arrivals are still a regular occurrence. On Boxing Day this year, more than 60 migrants were picked up while attempting to cross in small boats.

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