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DFDSCopyright: DFDS

Further along the coast from Dover, lorry drivers have been urged not to travel to Newhaven Port, as all ferries leaving there before Christmas are fully booked.

In an joint statement on behalf of Newhaven Ferry Port, DFDS and the Sussex Resilience Forum, the parties said they were working with the government to try and arrange Covid testing for drivers already booked on sailings before Christmas.

Drivers with bookings, including those at the port, will be kept updated as the work goes on, the statement added.

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

Lorry drivers have clashed with police in Dover as they continue to be held up by the French travel ban.

Footage shows a handful of police officers attempting to push back a small crowd of mostly men o on Wednesday morning.

France lifted the travel ban, but requires drivers to have a negative covid test before entry is granted.

Drivers are to receive rapid lateral flow tests, which can give results in about 30 minutes, but it could take some days to clear the backlog.

Those who return a positive result will be checked again and then offered “Covid-secure” hotel accommodation.

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

Lorry drivers in Kent have spent a third night sleeping in their vehicles waiting to get access to France.

• France shut the border for 48 hours on Sunday over the UK's new virus variant.
• It reopened it's borders on Tuesday night, but new regulations require all drivers to have had a negative Covid-19 test result.
• It could take "a few days" to clear the backlog of lorry drivers in Manston and parked up around Dover, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has said.
• Soldiers have joined NHS Test and Trace staff in Kent to carry out rapid tests on thousands of stranded lorry drivers.
• The Netherlands and Belgium have also relaxed bans on arrivals from the UK, as long as they have a recent negative result.
• But more than 50 other countries are continuing to block travellers from the UK.