PUPILS and their teachers from a school in York have been caught up in the travel chaos at the port of Dover.

Youngsters and staff from Millthorpe School in South Bank in York on a ski trip to Austria during the Easter holidays were among thousands of people stuck in queues trying to cross the English Channel at the weekend.

Coach passengers were forced to spend hours waiting to enter the port, be processed and board ferries.

It is reported that two coaches with about 80 children and staff on board set off from York at about 3pm on Saturday (April 1) and were meant to arrive in Austria by teatime on Sunday to start their skiing, but they were delayed at Dover for more than 27 hours with everyone still stuck on their coaches at 11pm last night (April 2). 

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On their Twitter feed the school said yesterday: "The students are holding up well, spirits are good and at the moment we're hoping and expecting to carry on with the trip but at the same time, we're exploring different contingencies that might be necessary and we'll keep you informed. Hoping to have pizzas delivered to the coach later on."

And in an update last night they said: "We are sailing soon and have made arrangements to stay in a hotel for bed and breakfast once we get over the channel. We’ll make sure everyone has enough to eat and drink. Thanks for your patience everyone."

This morning P&O Ferries tweeted: “There are no longer any queues at the entrance to the Port of Dover. We apologise for the wait times experienced this weekend.”

Earlier the company said all coaches had passed through the buffer zone, where advance passenger information was taken, ahead of boarding the next crossing to Calais after passing border control.

On Sunday night, the Port of Dover said around 40 coaches were awaiting immigration processing with a wait of around four hours expected.

At 2.30am on Monday, the port also said the A2 and A20 approach roads were “running normally”.

Logistics company DFDS tweeted that the buffer zone and border controls had been cleared by midnight.

Disruption at the port was first reported on Friday when the port declared a critical incident and said the delays were “due to lengthy French border processes and sheer volume”.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman rejected suggestions that Brexit could be the cause of delays at the port as passengers endured long queues and cancelled trips.