"Nobody Believes Ramsgate Port Can Be An International Border In 45 Days Time"

9 February 2019, 12:32 | Updated: 26 March 2019, 10:02

The chair of a Kent residents' group issues a stark reminder that Ramsgate Port is "obsolete" as the Department for Transport announces it has scrapped the controversial contract awarded to the ferry firm with no ships.

Steve Coombes of the Ramsgate Action Group said that it is "impossible" to imagine Ramsgate Port being ready as an international border before the 29th March.

He told Matt Frei that "anybody who knows anything about the port knows it's pretty close to being obsolete.

Describing the condition of the port, he said the fence needed to be entirely rebuilt and that concrete blocks "still over the freight entrance" because of recent invasion by travellers.

He added: "The terminal, up until a week ago, had three inches of bird poo in front of the doors."

- Brexit Ferry Contract Awarded To Firm With No Ships Terminated

His comments come as a controversial contract awarded to Seaborne Freight, a ferry firm with no ships, was scrapped by the Department for Transport.

Seaborne Freight won the £13.8m contract to run a freight service between Ramsgate and Ostend in the event of a no-deal Brexit, despite having no boats and having not run a ferry service before.

But the department has since cancelled the contract after Arklow Shipping, an Irish firm that had backed Seaborne Freight, stepped away from the deal.