British make own blockade

British tourists argue with French police

Disgruntled British holidaymakers trapped in a blockade of the Channel Tunnel by French farmers set up a roadblock of their own on Thursday.

Dozens of British tourists decided to block the A26 motorway themselves to stop French police giving local people preferential treatment through traffic jams.

People held up for hours on the road, the main motorway to the tunnel, said they had been moved up to four times to allow local traffic to pass.

Organisers of the sudden mini-blockade, which caused traffic jams stretching back miles, said they were fed up with suffering for French internal problems.

We are fighting a combination of the farmers and the French police, who are on the same team

John Hazell

John Hazell, 66, a retired financial adviser from Colchester, Essex, said: "We just want to get home.

"We are fighting a combination of the farmers and the French police, who are on the same team.

"In England we have law and order, which allows us the right of way on public roads, but not in France."

He added: "The police and tractor drivers are just sitting at the front of the blockade laughing at us."

Paying less

Dave Meek, 52, of Hunstanton, Norfolk, said he had come to Calais for a day trip after having to cancel a planned visit last Thursday due to a blockade of the tunnel by French fishermen.

He said he had been queuing to reach the tunnel for more than four hours and had been moved along the A26 twice by police to allow local traffic to pass.

"They should not be stopping anybody passing through this country, they should not legally be allowed to pick on foreign travellers," he said.

"Their dispute over fuel prices is an internal problem but they are already paying less than we do so we cannot have much sympathy for them."