M1, A1 and Nottingham traffic updates as Easter getaways begin

Delays return to Port of Dover at start of Easter getaway

Ferry passengers have faced long delays at the Port of Dover days after thousands of holidaymakers were stuck there for several hours. There were queues of "approximately 90 minutes" for passport checks by French officials at the Kent port as the Easter bank holiday getaway started, ferry operator DFDS wrote on Twitter. The company told passengers on Thursday morning this was due to "high volumes of traffic".

The queue had eased by 1pm, with DFDS saying "traffic is free flowing through border controls and check-in". There were chaotic scenes at the port last weekend when thousands of people were delayed, reportedly by up to 14 hours. Delays at the port have been blamed on French border officials carrying out extra checks and stamping UK passports following Brexit.

Port officials said they held a "urgent review" with ferry operators and the French authorities in an attempt to avoid a repeat of last weekend's delays.

Ferry companies are asking coach operators booked on sailings on Good Friday - expected to be the busiest day for outbound Easter travel from Dover - to "spread the travel" across the three-day period from Thursday to Saturday.