As thousands of HGVs and their drivers amass on the runway of the former airport at Manston, which is being used as a lorry park due to the congestion caused by the closure of the French border, serious concerns have been raised regarding a lack of facilities.
According to one truck driver currently at the site, drivers have been given nothing other than 2 small bottles of water. The driver also claims that a lack of toilet facilities has resulted in drivers doing their business in the fields alongside the runway.
Iulian Toroaba told the Trucker World website „We haven’t received any food . No toilets. Regarding our physiological needs, we are using the fields or the lorry’s wheels.”
The driver’s comments appear to be backed up by the RHA, whose Chief Executive stressed earlier this evening that drivers have „little, if any, access to toilet or washing facilities.”
Right now, the majority HGV drivers caught up in this mess have little, if any, access to toilet or washing facilities. This is not only putting their health at risk, it’s exacerbating the very situation that it was supposed to prevent @RHARichardB https://t.co/b3dV0Vo1Zo pic.twitter.com/IWm0CZtDs2
— RHA News (@RHANews) December 22, 2020
Amid a perceived lack of support from the authorities, charities and local businesses have had to chip in to help the drivers. The Salvation Army have been delivering water and other essentials, while the Sikh community in Kent have helped to cook and deliver up to 800 hot meals.
800 Hot meals ready for the truckers stranded in #Kent due to #OperationStack !
Our thx to the #Kent Sikh community especially Guru Nanak Gurdwara Gravesend. for preparing meals on short notice #BordersClosed @Port_of_Dover pic.twitter.com/65WOnh1NG9
— Khalsa Aid (@Khalsa_Aid) December 22, 2020
The situation at Manston looks anything but calm going by what’s being posted by drivers on social media. Several videos such as the one below show truckers sounding their horns in unison in protest:
Update: 👀🍿🚚🚛🚚 #Manston right now…. pic.twitter.com/ioT1Lqv1C2 https://t.co/ShoF1dn8wp
— JunkPolitics🍿🎬 (@NoContextPMQ) December 22, 2020
The ‘sunlit uplands’ turn out to be a surrealist trombone symphony, performed live from the world famous #Kent Lorry Palladium. #KentLorryPark #kent #borderscloser #PlagueIsland #BrexitIsland #ToryShambles #ToryIncompetence #COVID19 #christmasiscancelledpic.twitter.com/jkZhWHvMCG
— Brendan May (@bmay) December 22, 2020
Yesterday Prime Minister Boris Johnson was ridiculed over his claim that under 200 lorries were held up as a result of the border closure. The real figure was around 900 according to Highways England.
That number has now risen considerably according to the leader of Kent County Council, who has told the BBC’s Lauren Moss that there are 2,200 lorries in Manston and a further 632 on the M20.
Meanwhile, an official plan for how accompanied freight can flow back into France is still yet to be unveiled. Earlier this afternoon, multiple reports from major media outlets said that agreement is close on a coronavirus testing system that would allow lorry drivers in the UK back into France. Sky News reported that the British Army would even be drafted in to help with the testing.
Photo: Twitter