The number of cars and lorries using the Channel Tunnel rocketed in March - primarily due to the suspension of P&O Ferries' services.

Comparing year-on-year figures, passenger traffic on Eurotunnel's shuttle services shot up a staggering 220%.

This is due to the same period last year seeing cross-Channel travel hit hard by travel restrictions due to the Covid crisis and deflating its numbers.

The number of trucks it transported last month - 139,283 - saw a rise of 13% on last year. Passenger traffic stood at 122,319 compared to just 38,201 in March 2021.

A spokesman for Getlink, the tunnel's parent company, explained it was "driven by a favourable comparison basis and the shutdown of P&O ferries since March 17".

Numbers for April are expected to benefit again from P&O's failure to operate the Dover to Calais route and the Easter traffic surge - despite the road chaos seen in the county over recent weeks.