A MAN has been arrested in Kent after lorry drivers stranded there by the French travel ban clashed with police.

More than 6000 HGVs were held in the county, with drivers being tested for Covid-19 before they are allowed into France.

There were reports yesterday of disturbances at Dover and the “lorry park” at Manston airfield, but the leader of Kent Council, Roger Gough, said the first 20 trucks had entered the Eurotunnel to make the crossing. A handful of police officers could be seen in film footage trying to push back a crowd of protesting drivers in Dover.

Kent Police said the man was arrested for obstructing a highway and remained in custody. The force added that a police car was damaged at Manston.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said it may take a “few days” to clear the backlog of lorries waiting to cross into France, despite travel restrictions being eased.

Gough said 100 lorries had left the Manston site for Dover but had been unable to get to the port as it was being blocked by other vehicles. He told Sky News: “On the M20 side of things, the first 20 HGVs have gone into Eurotunnel,” and added that the number should “pick up” rapidly.

Meanwhile, a Scots food industry boss has warned that producers with goods stuck in Kent are set for a “black Christmas”.

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France banned entry because of the more infectious variant of coronavirus that was found in the UK, but a deal was struck with the French government to allow freight through, with drivers being tested before crossing. However, Food and Drink Federation Scotland (FDFS) chief executive, David Thomson, said clearing the backlog will take days, with some produce being ruined by the wait.

“For those people who export fresh and perishable goods, particularly seafood and salmon in Scotland, it’s been an absolutely disastrous few days and it will lead to a black Christmas for those businesses,” he told the BBC.

“The deal will be far too late for many people who are delivering perishable goods to the continent.

“It’s too late now to get to customers before Christmas.”

Thomson said companies had told the FDFS that the loss of Christmas sales could spell the end of their operations.

He said: “We’ve heard of companies that are saying this is the final straw for them ... People have to pay farmers and fishermen, people have to deal with the customers they’ve let down and they will not make the money that they would do in what is of course the most lucrative few days of the year for most food businesses in the lead up to Christmas. Many, many businesses are going to have a very difficult few days trying to work out if they continue.”

Despite the worries over exports, Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday she has no concerns about shortages of food in Scotland because of the delays. The First Minister told MSPs: “Supermarkets are well stocked. And so there is absolutely no need for anyone to buy more than planned.”

She also called for perishable goods to be prioritised as lorries get moving again in Kent, tweeting on Tuesday: “We still await detail of the agreement, but if freight starts moving tomorrow – as we must hope it will – the plan to prioritise perishable produce such as seafood should be activated immediately.”