Calais crisis leaves HGV drivers 'sitting ducks'

John Simkins fears that a driver could be injured or even killed if the EU fails to take action to deal with the worsening situation at the French port.

Around 25 Transmec trucks have been affected by blockades by striking MyFerryLink workers. Other trucks en-route to Calais have been told to stop and await further instructions.

Drivers stuck in Calais have expressed fears for their own personal safety with migrants attempting to take advantage of the queues and board trucks.

Mr Simkins said: "As a company that have been operating trucks around Europe for many years, the issue of migrants attempting to access trailers in and around the Calais area is nothing new. However, since the beginning of the year the situation has progressively deteriorated, resulting in companies such as ourselves to constantly review security measures in an effort to safeguard not only our customers' freight but also our equipment and the welfare of our drivers.

"Transmec are probably in a better position than many of our competitors as around 80 per cent of our trucks have a two-man driving team. This gives added security to the clients whose products are entrusted to us.

"Despite that, the last two weeks have seen unprecedented levels of attempted entry onto trailers, damage to trucks and physical intimidation to drivers. The strike by the MyFerryLink workers and the blockades they have built on the main road into the port have resulted in many kilometres of trucks queueing to get into Calais. This leaves the drivers and their trucks as ‘sitting ducks’.

"The French authorities clearly have a no arrest policy and the migrants are playing a game of cat and mouse with the French police who cannot cope.

"Drivers who are in the queue are seriously worried and are witnessing gangs of migrants roaming from truck to truck, some armed with knives deciding on their next move. The situation has concerned me for many weeks now and I fear that it is only a matter of time before a driver is dragged from his truck and beaten or, even worse, killed.

"I am not placing the blame entirely on the French authorities because clearly they are having to deal with a very difficult situation but the EU must now make a clear decision and stop the internal bickering otherwise there will be tragic consequences.”