Live Port of Dover and A20 updates as passengers evacuated due to suspicious package discovery

Police are at the scene and Highways England is warning of potential delays

Emergency services have been at Dover's Eastern Docks for hours after a suspicious package was found on-board a ferry.

P&O Ferries tweeted that its 6.40am and 7.25am crossings would be scrapped while police attend an incident at the Eastern Docks.

The company since confirmed the suspicious package was discovered on board its 6.40am crossing.

Pictures show evacuated customers waiting in the terminal building as security staff, incident response units and a bomb disposal van moves in.

Pictures from Port of Dover's Eastern Docks shows emergency response to suspicious package discovery

Highways England has also taken to social media to warn drivers to expect potential delays due to the disruption.

A tweet said: "If you are travelling to the Port of Dover this morning.

"Please be aware of the below that could affect your journey times. Thank you."

P&O added: "We're sorry to say that due to a security incident, we are expecting possible delays while police are in attendance. Thank you for your understanding.

"We are sorry to say that due to the ongoing incident, the 06:40 sailing has now been cancelled.

"All passengers travelling on the 06:40 and 07:25 sailings will be allocated space on the next available sailings."

We've got live updates as and when they come in.

Kent Police was called at 6.58am on Saturday to assist Port of Dover Police following a security alert onboard a ferry within the Port of Dover.

Officers are no longer at the scene.

Traffic in the area is heavy - plan your journeys.

At the moment we still do not know what the suspicious package was.

The Ministry of Defence said Kent Police is leading the response to the incident at the docks, and that it will be releasing a statement this morning.

Stay with us for more information.

P&O has told KentLive the incident is finished.

This, however, doesn't mean delays will clear any quicker.

P&O:

P&O's noon crossing is expected to depart on time.

DFDS:

The last information available said that its vessels were scheduled to leave one hour later than their designated time.

The company has not issued an update on this time as yet.

A ferry firm has confirmed all of its vessels underwent security checks after the discovery of a suspicious package on board one of its ships.

People were evacuated off P&O Ferries 6.40am sailing today (September 28) after the alarm was raised at Dover's Eastern Docks.

Passengers have been pictured waiting in the terminal building as emergency services remain at the scene.

Both P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways have reported delays after the incident.

Read the full report here.

We are sorry to advise that we are experiencing delays of up to 120 minutes on our #POcalais and #PODover routes. Our Next Departures are:Dover: 07:25 - ETD 10:00 and 08:25 - ETD 09:50Calais: 11:35 - ETD 12:35 and 12:45 - ETD TBCWe apologise for the inconvenience caused

P&O Ferries says there is no further information on exactly what the package is at this time

P&O Ferries has confirmed customers affected by the evacuation will be put onto the next available sailing.

A suspicious package has been found on board a ferry, sparking bomb disposal teams to arrive at the Port of Dover.

P&O Ferries’ 6.40am sailing from Dover was cancelled as its customers were told to evacuate the ship after the discovery was made.

Delays are to be expected this morning to anyone crossing the Channel at Dover.

Dover TAP, a traffic calming scheme, has been implemented on the A20 as HGVs queue and await to be placed on later sailings.

Read the full report by tapping here.

Police are now manning the entrance to Dover by implementing a traffic scheme which controls the flow of lorries heading to the Port of Dover.

HGVs are confined to the left hand lane, and their movement is controlled by traffic lights at the Western Heights roundabout.

Signals from the Eastern Docks will indicate when there is enough space for more lorries to proceed down the A20.

AA Traffic news says all other traffic is using the right hand lane.

This is only affecting Dover-bound drivers at present.

KentLive has made attempts to contact Port of Dover police.

Update: Our next departures from Dover are: 07:25 (ETD 09:10) and 08:25 (ETD 09:00). We apologise for the inconvenience caused and we will get you on your way as soon as possible

Update: Our next departures from Dover are: 07:25 (ETD 09:10) and 08:25 (ETD 09:00). We apologise for the inconvenience caused and we will get you on your way as soon as possible