³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Ferry passengers travelling between Dover and Calais have been facing delays to services because of industrial action in France.

Three unions took part in the action over the future of their jobs, cutting the number of berths available in Calais for ferries from nine to one.

At the height of the action, passengers faced delays of up to 90 minutes.

Operation Stack - where freight traffic queues on the M20 to enter the Port of Dover - also had to be implemented.

Three ferry companies - P&O Ferries, DFDS and My Ferry Link - were all affected by the action, which was due to end at 21:00 GMT.

All said they regretted the disruption to services, which they said was beyond their control.

The three ferry companies would normally have use of up to nine berths at Calais but were having to share one berth.

Speaking earlier, a P&O spokesman said: "The three companies would normally operate around 40 sailings a day between Dover and Calais but there will be cancellations today.

"We have told day trippers not to travel. We might be able to get them to France but it could be difficult getting them back.

"The main problem today is going to be for freight traffic."