Fuming families spent the night sleeping in their cars in horror 21-hour “holiday hell” Eurotunnel queues as the summer travel chaos continued.
Volunteers handed out emergency rations of food and drink to families stranded on jammed routes leading to the cross-channel terminal.
Worried motorists dialled 999 as people passed out in 28C temperatures on the M20 and the hard shoulder became a “public urinal”.
Parents were forced to brush their children’s teeth at the side of the road as the school holiday getaway turned into a nightmare.
Other fed-up travellers, who said they were treated “worse than cattle”, walked for two hours to buy essentials from supermarkets.
Emergency planners have warned the hellish scenes could continue all summer as millions try to get to France. The chaos seen on Friday and Saturday at Dover eased today, with port bosses saying traffic was “flowing normally”.
But it was a different story 15 miles away at the Eurotunnel terminal, where passengers were stranded on local roads.
Unlike Dover, where passport checks were to blame, the chaos at Folkestone was a logistical one.
The huge queues were caused by the closure of the coast-bound M20 to non-freight traffic as part of Operation Brock. Over 600 HGVs were using the motorway as a lorry park, and other local roads could not cope with the extra diverted traffic.
AA bosses described it as the “hotspot of holiday hell” and advised motorists to take extra food and water.
Dad-of-three Manesh Luthra, from Essex, arrived two hours ahead of his scheduled crossing but then endured a 21-hour wait in a queue.
“We joined the back of the queue for what was the worst 21 hours experienced,” he said. “We moved metres in hours. We wanted to give up numerous times. There was no info, no support and no supplies,” he told the BBC.
“Other drivers were cutting into the queue. It was savage. I was worried there would be an accident. I’m calm now but at various points we all broke down. I have never experienced anything like this.”
Another motorist said: “We’ve been here all day long. We’ve moved a mile in eight hours. It is absolutely horrendous.
“There are people passing out, we have had no police presence. There are people ringing 999. The hard shoulder is like a public urinal. People are trying to give their dogs exercise. People are running out of water.”
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Andrew Dyer-Smith and his family boarded a train in the early hours of yesterday after also queuing for 21 hours.
His children were forced to sleep in their seats while he and his wife took the wheel in shifts to catch some naps.
He said: “We arrived at Folkestone at 9am for a train at 10.30 and then have been slowly crawling along for the last 21-plus hours.”
Georgina Keen was stuck in a 16-hour queue and then had to endure another four-hour wait at the terminal.
“To move the six miles took us 16 hours,” she told the BBC. “There were no updates.
“They were using the slip-roads in and around Kent as their holding pen. We were treated worse than cattle. Children were getting into their pyjamas... and brushing their teeth at the side of the road.”
Eurotunnel bosses said they were expecting 7,000 cars to cross the channel using its trains today.
John Keefe, the company’s director of public affairs, said he was confident the terminal “was working”.
But he admitted the company was powerless to prevent the chaos occurring on roads approaching the site.
“The roads outside are beyond our remit,” he said.
"We’re responsible for managing the service. It’s the only place we have any responsibility, any authority.”
Toby Howe, from the Kent Resilience Forum, warned there is no end in sight for the cross-channel chaos.
“It will still be very, very busy throughout the whole summer,” he said.
“We’ve got another busy weekend next weekend, huge numbers of tourists crossing. It’s back to pre-pandemic levels of tourists. In fact, in some places it’s been even busier than it was three, four years ago.”
The Kent Resilience Forum delivered welfare provisions to motorists after dark for the first time over concerns for families.
Andy Jeffery, the lead for driver welfare, said essential supplies were distributed to over 1,200 vehicles on the A20.
Roger Gough, the leader of Kent council, said improvements to the road infrastructure should be treated as “projects of national significance”.
That was echoed by the RAC, which said turning the M20 into a lorry park was an “inadequate solution” and a “sticking plaster” approach.
French and UK officials have clashed over the Dover delays, which travel experts have blamed on Brexit.
The UK government said French authorities had failed to find enough border staff to check passports.
But French Transport Minister Clement Beaune said France was not responsible for additional border checks brought on by Brexit.
Meanwhile, the AA branded Folkestone the new “hotspot of holiday hell. Eurotunnel said its service at Folkestone was delayed, with processing time from check-in to boarding estimated to be about 90 minutes.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said Eurotunnel-bound motorists are trying to find alternative routes and warned that “many are waiting for several hours” to get to the terminal.
He said: “Dover has now recovered, but Folkestone has become the hotspot of holiday hell.
“Drivers are now trying to find alternative routes down to the Eurotunnel terminal at J11a on the M20.
"Holidaymakers are trying to use the M2 and then find ways to drop down into the A20 and the terminal via the back roads.
“Drivers heading to Folkestone need to be prepared. We have seen that many are waiting for several hours before they get to the terminal, so all the pre-journey vehicle checks are key along with carrying plenty of food, water and entertainment for younger travellers.”
