Army bomb squads were called to Eurotunnel after a suspicious vehicle was stopped – with trains suspended as emergency teams dealt with the incident.

The situation has now been resolved and services are resuming after the alarm was raised at 10.30am at the Channel Tunnel terminal in Cheriton, Folkestone.

Pictures showed military explosives experts at the scene operating a specialist bomb disposal robot and a man previously detained as a result has been released pending further investigation.

Passport control and security lanes were evacuated and a huge cordon was set up around the area with queues on approach to the check-in booths starting to ease.

A police spokesperson said: “A thorough examination was carried out and the vehicle has since been deemed to not pose a risk to public safety. The cordon has been lifted as a result.

“A man who was detained in connection with the incident has been interviewed and released pending further inquiries.”

It has not been confirmed why the vehicle was stopped or if any suspicious items were found.

Hundreds of vehicles have been held up in the six-hour incident which was concluded at about 4.30pm.

A statement from Le Shuttle – the train operator at Eurotunnel – said: “Services were suspended today due to a police incident, the issue is now resolved and services are restarting.

“We are still seeing queues at border controls so please come prepared with refreshments and consider stopping en-route to make the wait more comfortable.

“Incidents of this nature are extremely rare and we’re grateful to our customers for their patience.”

Delays of up to 90 minutes are being reported on approach to check-in while there are further 30 minute are reported at border control.

A man has been detained in connection with the incident and enquiries are ongoing.

A Kent Police spokesperson said earlier this morning: “Explosives experts from the British Army have been called to the scene and a cordon has been put in place for the safety of the public.”

The incident caused long queues approaching the terminal, with services suspended at Folkestone for almost six hours.

The incident is not currently being linked to the ongoing search for terror suspect Daniel Khalife, who escaped prison on Wednesday.

There were long queues of traffic on the M20 coastbound at J11a on the approach to Eurotunnel.

There was also congestion up to almost J11 Hythe/Westenhanger as traffic queues in lane one for the exit. The A20 was also queueing approaching the tunnel entry.

Meanwhile, a stretch of the M20 has reopened after it was shut amid the hunt for Khalife.

Police closed the motorway coastbound between Junction 8 for Leeds Castle and Junction 9 for Ashford as they looked for the former soldier, 21, who broke out of Wandsworth prison by clinging onto a delivery van.

Enhanced security checks are still taking place at the Port of Dover, in case Khalife tries to leave the country via the Eastern Docks.

Operation Brock Zero was enforced meaning EU-bound lorries could be parked up along the M20 while it was shut between Junctions 8 and 9.

Traffic was being diverted via the A20.