All roads led to Dover at the weekend - and many people using them to reach the continent had not booked their ferry tickets first!

That resulted in miles of queues, and the introduction of Operation Stack, as thousands of tourists jostled with freight vehicles to reach the port.

With more than 60 sailings leaving the port during the day, ferry operators were doing their best to move as many people as possible across the Channel to France as quickly as they could, but the sheer volume of traffic meant that they inevitably faced delays lasting several hours.

Police brought the first phase of Operation Stack into use at 7am on Saturday, but it took many hours to clear the backlog.

Urgent messages were broadcast advising people not to come to the port unless they had prior reservations.

And lorry drivers were warned not to try and avoid the Stack queuing system by using other routes to reach the port, as they would be turned away and sent to the back of the queue again.

On Saturday morning, traffic tailed back from the port right along the A20 to the Round Hill Tunnels at Folkestone, and vehicles were also queuing on the A2 Jubilee Way.

For freight, the cross-Channel ferry companies operate on a “turn up and go” basis.

Operation Stack was lifted on Saturday night, tne traffic flowed smoothly for the rest of the weekend.

Up to date traffic reports are available at www.doverport.co.uk.