Three in custody after Dover terror alert

A “suspect device” that caused chaos at the Port of Dover was declared safe today – but three men remained under arrest after “prohibited weapons” were found in a car.

Thousands of passengers coming to the UK from France were affected by the alert which lasted over seven hours, causing chaos in surrounding roads.

The road traffic backlog was expected to take between six and 12 hours to clear and the 10 ferries that were waiting to sail into the port would be allocated slots “as swiftly as possible”, Dover Harbour Board said.

The alarm was raised at 7.21pm yesterday when customs officers stopped a car and found what they considered to be a suspect device.

An exclusion zone was set up and the port came to a standstill as a bomb disposal squad moved in to the Eastern Dock.

Traffic built up outside the port, gridlocking the town centre before the all-clear was announced at 2.40am.

A police spokeswoman said: “A device was not found but a number of prohibited weapons were discovered.

“Three men were arrested in connection with terrorism offences and are currently being held in custody at a police station in Kent.

“The port is now getting back to normal. Ferries are now allowed to dock and traffic is moving through the door.”

At its height there were 14 ferries delayed by the alert, four inside the port and 10 in the channel between Calais and Dover, said Keith Southey of Dover Harbour Board.

“Four were inside the port when the alarm was raised. They sailed several hours later,” he said.

And he warned passengers that were planning to travel from Dover this weekend to seek information.

“Anyone planning a journey should check with the ferry companies before starting out for the port,” he said.

The port had returned to normal this morning and P&O and Norfolk Line ferries were running on time.

Kent Police also reported that the backlog of traffic had cleared in and around the town.

A P&O spokeswoman said: “At about 11.15pm we were able to start unloading two of our ferries. Passengers had to take an alternative route out of the port to avoid the exclusion zone.

“After around 2.40am our ferries were able to berth as normal. The timetable is now running as planned.”

She explained that eight P&O vessels, one of of which was a freight carrier, were affected.