Operation Stack has been lifted this evening on the M20, ending several days of traffic hell for Kent's motorists.

The M20 was today only closed to coast-bound traffic between junctions 8 to 9, Maidstone to Ashford but police said at about 6.30pm that it had finally been lifted altogether after almost a week.

Highways England announced that they had removed the last of cones and signage for Operation Stack.

The section between Ashford and junction 11 at Hythe, which had been shut, was reopened this morning, when non-freight traffic could rejoin the M20 at junction 9.

As solutions to Stack are still sought, around 1,000 lorries are to be held at Ebbsfleet International Station in a bid to ease M20 tailbacks.

Transport minister Andrew Jones made the announcement yesterday at a meeting at county hall in Maidstone.

He said: “We need some kind of holding area off the highway.

“The key point here is to keep the M20 traffic flowing in two ways. We are looking at opening up Ebbsfleet station for immediate effect - within a couple of days.”

Stack has now been in place for 27 of the last 40 days.