by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Small firms are calling on the French Government to clamp down on strikers who disrupt cross-Channel traffic and bring Kent to a halt.

The Federation of Small Businesses, which has 7,000 members across Kent and Medway, has today filed an official complaint about port blockades.

The complaint states that: "The French Government is in breach of its legal obligations under the EC Treaty, which prohibits restrictions on imports or exports of goods between Member States; and demands that the European Commission takes action against the French Government to prevent further blockades and secure compensation for those haulage firms affected by the disruption."

The FSB is taking its Stop the Blockades campaign to the European Commission in the hope it will put pressure on the French Government to clamp down on the protests and compensate business for lost business and wasted time.

The organisation claims the last fishermen’s strike, in April, cost the economy £6m in terms of traffic chaos through Operation Stack, and says some businesses, especially small hauliers, are going to the wall as a result.

The FSB claims that small firms lost an average of £800 during the four-day dispute and the wider haulage industry loses £1 million for every day Calais is shut.

John Parker of John Parker International, a horse transporter based near Hythe, faces the added complication of animal welfare when his vehicles are trapped in Operation Stack.

William Pucknell, of W. S. G. Transport in Medway has had lorries stuck in Stack that were not crossing the Channel and needed a police escort to escape the queue."

Roger House, FSB chairman for Kent and Medway, said: "Kent small businesses are at the forefront when there are hold ups at the Channel ports, It is not just cross channel traffic that is inconvenienced, gridlock on surrounding roads make it difficult for local hauliers to return to their depots.

Kent County Council welcomed the FSB campaign. Kevin Lynes, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, said: "The misery caused by Operation Stack when French strike action closes the ports is acutely felt in the UK and in France. The cost to businesses, not to mention the inconvenience to residents, is completely unacceptable and must stop."