Lorry drivers have clashed with police in Kent, England as they continue to be held up by a French travel ban.
Footage shows a handful of police officers attempting to push back a small crowd of mostly men in Dover on Wednesday morning.
It comes as UK Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick warned it may take a “few days” to clear the backlog of around 4,000 lorries waiting to cross the Channel.
France has lifted the travel ban, but said those seeking to cross into the country from the UK must have a negative coronavirus result.
Mr Jenrick told Sky News that drivers will receive rapid lateral flow tests, which can give results in about 30 minutes, followed by a PCR test if they come back positive.
Those who return a second positive result will be offered “Covid-secure” hotel accommodation.
Mr Jenrick said he hoped HGVs would begin crossing the Channel on Wednesday morning as drivers undergo Covid-19 testing.
The Associated Press reported seeing a ferry pull into the French port of Calais before dawn, while trains carrying freight and car passengers were allowed to cross under the English Channel.
As of 7pm on Tuesday night, there were just under 3,000 lorries queued at the disused airfield site at Manston, Kent, Mr Jenrick said.
Between 700 to 800 were part of Operation Stack on the M20, he said, but “other HGVs and smaller vehicles are parked elsewhere in Kent”.
“Whatever the number is, whether it is 4,000 or more, it is a significant number to work through,” Mr Jenrick acknowledged as he advised hauliers not to travel to Kent.
Meanwhile, the chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation Scotland said companies face a “black Christmas” due to delays at the French border.
David Thomson told the BBC: “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.
“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.”
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) estimates between 8,000 and 10,000 delayed lorries are now in Kent and its surrounding areas, in lorry stops and at depots waiting for borders to reopen and to cross the Channel.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced a temporary relaxation of drivers’ hours for hauliers, increasing the driving limit of nine hours to 11, to help them get through UK borders safely over the coming weeks.
France imposed the travel ban in response to fears about the spread of the more infectious coronavirus strain, which is spreading in the UK.
