Irish hauliers in France were heading for the Belgian border early this morning after delivering their loads yesterday. They were travelling by side roads, singly or in small groups, so they would not be caught in tailbacks. Some drivers, returning from Bordeaux and Marseilles, were pinning their hopes on catching the Pandoro ferry from Cherbourg. Because of its distance from the main channel ports in the Pas de Calais, Cherbourg has so far escaped the worst of the blockade.
These hopes seemed to be dashed late last night when Cherbourg was closed to passenger and freight vehicles. Pandoro is understood to be considering rerouting the Cherbourg ferry to Spain.
One man heading for Cherbourg last night was Mr Peter Terry of Wicklow. He said yesterday he had made good time on French motorways by slipping between roadblocks. However, his luck ran out near Bordeaux, when he encountered a barricade of trucks with burning tyres.
He took to the side roads and it took 37 miles of tortuous driving to reach a point six miles below the barricade. On the final approach to Bordeaux he stopped with his son Brendan for breakfast. Minutes later the cafe filled with French truckers. To their surprise one of the French drivers showed them a way into the city.
After making a call in Bordeaux, Mr Terry decided to return, having not delivered about 10 per cent of his load of baby cots, because it was too risky to attempt to reach Paris.
Mr Graham Lowndes from Ashbourne said he had managed to make deliveries to the Paris meat market yesterday and was now making a dash for Holland. "Normally it takes six hours, but I expect to be nine or 10 hours on the road tonight," he said.
"I only encountered one barricade on the way down, at Rouen, and the company I was delivering to gave me an alternative route through the town. I was taking quite a chance. Vehicles over 3 1/2 tonnes are banned and I was driving a 40-tonne truck."
Mr Barney McAnuff from Co Louth took 800 lamb carcasses through the Channel Tunnel on Sunday night and delivered them to customers in Tours and Paris.
He said he had no worries about fuel and was optimistic he would make Zeebrugge or the Hook of Holland by morning. He said the French drivers were right to strike for better pay and conditions.