Trucker Terry O'Connor has been thwarted in his bid to blockade Dover ferry port by wagonloads of eastern European refugees.

The Bradford haulier, of Halton Place, Little Horton, vowed last week to cause havoc at Dover on Saturday in protest at the dangers truckers faced from stowaways and a new £2,000 fine for drivers found with immigrants on board.

But Mr O'Connor gave up his plan after about six trucks from eastern Europe were found with immigrants on board.

Speaking from Calais he told the Telegraph and Argus: "It was chaos. One of the English drivers had told officials that these trucks had a load of illegals on board and they were all stopped.

"I had been searched at Calais already and with all this going on there was no point in doing anything.

"But I'm still desperate to do something to show how angry we all are at what is going on. A few truckers told me last week they could not do it because of their timetables, but at the weekend about a dozen more told me they were all for it."

Mr O'Connor, who works for Sanita Shipping Ltd, Daisy Place, Saltaire, added: "A lot of the English drivers are getting really angry now.

"A while after these east European drivers were stopped, they all came into the caf where a few of us were having breakfast.

"One of them started having a go at the driver who had told the officials about the trucks, then another English driver came in and punched the foreign guy."

Sanita director John Daure revealed another of his drivers, Peter Snowdon, was close to being fined £10,000 after finding five immigrants on his truck on Friday.

He said: "He had checked his truck and everything was secure, but he heard some talking and told the officials at Calais to check his trailer.

"The immigrants had cut the steel cord, climbed in and glued it back together with a steel pin.

"Then the French authorities accused my driver of taking these five on board and trying to ditch them when he got cold feet.

"We can't win, it is just a horrendous situation and sooner or later we are going to have to pay a big fine for something that's not our fault."

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