Easter travel warning as Dover set to slash number of coaches allowed at port to avoid chaos

TRANSPORT bosses have issued an Easter travel warning after slashing the number of coaches allowed through the Port of Dover to avoid chaos.

DFDS, Irish Ferries and P&O have been ordered to ration the number of coach bookings through the Kent port, after 15-hour queues left thousands of Brits stranded last weekend.

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Coaches due to leave Dover on Good Friday will now be staggered over Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The port is putting up temporary marquees to check passports to avoid a repeat of last weekend's "critical incident".

French border control posts will also be fully staffed, after Dover bosses slammed the number of booths closed during the chaos.

Easter weekend travellers have been advised not to arrive early for ferries to avoid unnecessary bottlenecks.

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A spokesperson said: "All Port of Dover stakeholders are acutely aware that last weekend was a horrible situation for many travellers, including the elderly and schoolchildren.

"It is the top priority of all parties to ensure a better experience for travellers this weekend.

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"These additional measures are intended to significantly improve traffic throughout and give travellers a better start to their holidays."

It comes after RAC experts revealed the exact times NOT to travel this Easter holiday weekend - as 17million cars are set to hit the road.

Families were stuck for 15 hours at the Port of Dover last weekend.

Kids were left physically ill after being stuck on coaches as the port declared a critical incident.

Tory MP Tim Loughton said: "Last time I was going across the channel, we went through the British passport control in a matter of minutes.

"And then there was a big queue to get through the French passport control because only two booths out of I think 10 or 11 were actually open.

"It's because there were not sufficient border force people there from the French equivalent checking those passports."