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Battle of Portaloo: Lorry drivers in Kent forced to fight over toilets

There has been chaos in Kent with lorry drivers faced with parking shortages and poor toilet facilities.

Unite the union said truckers have been involved in fights because the services have become “chronically overcrowded”, the BBC has reported.

After Brexit, on 31 December last year, Kent County council was given powers to penalise lorries parking on roads and laybys, which they are intending to implement in the long-term.

According to Unite, drivers are obliged under the law to take breaks but they fear fines if they stop in certain areas.

And they say they are forced to park in laybys with no toilet facilities as a result of the restrictions.

The pressure on the facilities comes despite the fact that the UK is currently experiencing a lorry driver shortage, which could see gaps on supermarket shelves for months to come.

Truck driving in the UK has been dominated by Eastern Europeans over the last few years, but because of Brexit and the pandemic, there are now not enough drivers to help transport food for Brits.

Reactions

One person said: “I don’t remember fighting to take a dump being on the side of the Leave Campaign Bus yet here we are.”

Meanwhile, William Oliver said Brexit is “quite literally a shitshow”, whilst Jon Newton labelled the fighting between drivers as “The Battle of Portaloo”.

Labour Councillor Catherine Glynn-Davies, who represents Broadwater on Worthin Borough Council, said: “It’s exhausting.

“How this country is suffering as a result of this Governments wilful deceit.

“My MP said it would all be fine and dandy when I went to see him post referendum.”

And comedy writer James Felton said: “Brexit means Brexit” could be explained as “Brexit means you might have to punch someone if you need to partake in a shit”.

What next?

Kent County Council said it is considering making the current parking restrictions “permanent”.

The local authorities are currently awaiting a decision to be made by the government’s Department for Transport.

A DfT spokesperson said: “We have received a request to extend parking orders for lorries in parts of Kent.

“We are also aware of concerns from the road freight industry and are considering next steps.”

Meanwhile, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is considering putting drivers on the official list of occupations which experience a shortage of workers, according to The Guardian.

The newspaper has reported the UK will have a summer of food shortages because up to 100,000 lorry drivers have been lost to Brexit and Covid.

Tesco, the UK’s biggest food retailer said the driver shortages are causing 48 tonnes of food waste on a weekly basis.

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Andra Maciuca

Andra is a multilingual, award-winning NQJ senior journalist and the UK’s first Romanian representing co-nationals in Britain and reporting on EU citizens for national news. She is interested in UK, EU and Eastern European affairs, EU citizens in the UK, British citizens in the EU, environmental reporting, ethical consumerism and corporate social responsibility. She has contributed articles to VICE, Ethical Consumer and The New European and likes writing poetry, singing, songwriting and playing instruments. She studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield and has a Masters in International Business and Management from the University of Manchester. Follow her on:

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