Frustrated residents plagued by noise from lorries say they are still being disturbed – even though a night ban on truckers sounding their horns has been introduced.

National Highways last week announced a “quiet zone” on the A20 next to the Aycliffe estate in Dover, stopping lorry horns being used between 11.30pm and 7am.

Bosses say they are aiming to reduce noise pollution when the Dover Traffic Assessment Project (TAP) is used to hold cross-Channel freight heading to the port, and are threatening £60 fines for truckers breaching the rule.

The zone is running on the coastbound A20 from the Courtwood interchange to Western Heights roundabout, but those living in Aycliffe say it isn’t having any effect.

Kerry-Anne Jones, who lives in Old Folkestone Road, which backs right onto the A20, says she is still being kept awake.

“It happened all day Friday and into the night – at first I couldn’t sleep but then I was so exhausted I had to,” she said.

“It’s the famous Aycliffe chorus and it’s gone on for years. But with the quiet zone how do they know which lorries are sounding their horns? Also how do they implement the fines unless they are on the spot?

“Otherwise foreign lorry drivers can go straight back to their own countries without paying.”

Neighbour Joanne Williamson agreed, saying highways bosses should hold the lorries further away from the estate.

“I could hear the horns at 6am on Saturday morning,” she said.

“The drivers are next to a built-up area but I know they are frustrated.”

The “quiet zone”, stretching for almost a mile, was announced as a trial scheme by National Highways last Monday.

A spokesman told KentOnline: “As a part of the trial, we’re encouraging feedback from locals as to the success of the quiet zone.

“This will help us in evaluating the success of the trial. It is set to run the course of this summer deployment of Operation Brock.”

The Operation Brock contraflow system is currently in place on the M20 between Maidstone and Ashford, and will continue to run over the summer holiday.

Aycliffe resident Margaret Connolly said: “I’d heard about the quiet zone and I thought, well, that didn’t work.

“I sleep at the back of the house so I can hear it clearly. It’s so annoying.”

But Angela Bird, who lives further from the A20 in the estate at St David’s Avenue, says she has not been disturbed at night.

She said: “I didn’t hear them during the night but I do during the day.”

The enforcement, with fines, is being carried out by Kent Police.

Dover TAP is brought in to control the follow of lorries into the port at times of excess traffic towards there.

But it does mean lorries are kept waiting day and night as traffic takes time to clear and some drivers blast their horns in frustration, disturbing neighbours.

Aycliffe resident Gladys Smith, of Old Folkestone Road, said: “You can see it from both sides as it’s grim for the drivers as well.

“They are stuck there for hours with no toilets and nothing to eat unless they have brought their own food. There are no facilities for them at all so I feel sorry for them too.”

Last weekend was another flashpoint because schools had broken up for the summer holiday.

Exactly a year before the volume of traffic had caused pandemonium on local routes with vehicles spilling into arterial town roads and gridlocking them too.

This year roads within the town were far clearer and the key routes of Maison Dieu Road plus Folkestone Road, York Street and Townwall Street were often passable.

Most locals on social media during the weekend reported that much of the town could be driven through.

The emergency planning group Kent Resilience Forum managed the traffic during the critical period from last Friday to Sunday.

Traffic marshals supported by the Port of Dover Police were deployed to manage traffic at key junctions on York Street, Woolcomber Street, and Jubilee Way.

This kept traffic moving with only isolated congestion on local roads when traffic levels reach their peak.

Dover District Council leader Kevin Mills (Lab) said: “I’m grateful to the teams at the Port of Dover and the Kent Resilience Forum for putting in place some of the proactive traffic management we called for.

“The plan worked, and we did not see a repeat of the massive delays experienced on local roads at Easter and in summer 2022.

“These busy days are predictable, so these measures need to be in place every time we see peak travel periods. That way, the Port and ferry operators can deliver a better service for their passengers, and local communities can go about their business.”

But DDC has also called on the government and Highways England to move quicker with plans to improve the road network in East Kent, and to improve welfare arrangements for HGV drivers.

Cllr Mills said: “The government needs to step up and invest to create a road network in and around Dover, which is fit for Europe’s busiest ferry port and vital to UK trade.

“Dover must be prioritised for investment.”

The office of Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said it was estimated that some 115,000 passengers, more than 27,000 cars, more than 440 coaches and some 7,300 lorries travelled through the port over the weekend.

The number of cars travelling through the Port of Dover to go on their summer getaway exceeded 10,000 for the first time since Britain left the European Union in 2020.

Mrs Elphicke said: “The dire predictions that had been made by some did not come to pass. It was good news that with traffic back at pre-pandemic levels we avoided the sort of traffic gridlock we used to see at times before Brexit.

“Last weekend was a major test of whether the improvements that have been made after we left the EU would pay off or whether there would be days of gridlock as we have seen in the past.

“There has been an outstanding job to pull through this weekend. The sheer volume of traffic going through Kent roads makes this a massive logistics operation. It doesn’t take much, as with any road, airport or port, for things to go wrong at peak times.

“Things are still very finely balanced. That’s why I am continuing to press for new lorry and check-in facilities, along with other changes, to make our roads more resilient for the future.”

Several times a year Dover is clogged by port traffic congestion and school holiday rushes, including at Easter, are sometimes just one reason.

On occasions it has been stormy weather disrupting ferry schedules, strikes in Calais or delays in border controls.

A lack of French staff caused a traffic build-up that seized up the entire town for as long as 12 hours on July 23, 2016, which became nicknamed Black Saturday.

Dovorians, so used to these kinds of disruptions, often adapt by not attempting to drive at all and instead stay at home, use the train or walk.

KentOnline has contacted police to find out if any lorry drivers were fined for breaching the quiet zone hours over the weekend.