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10 June 2016 07:39
Football fans have been urged to drive carefully
Soccer fans have been urged to plan their journeys carefully before heading over to France for this month's festival of football.
With the group games of the tournament starting on Friday (June 10), Highways England has suggested that the Dover to Calais route is likely to prove popular.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland are all taking part in the competition.
Data from the organisation shows that a decade ago, when Germany hosted the World Cup, more than 350,000 England fans made the trip, with 36,000 doing so via the Port of Dover and 20,000 using the Channel Tunnel.
Safe travel urged
Highways England emergency planning manager Ollie Brown said it is important that people travel safely when heading over the English Channel to the continent.
He said: "Our traffic officers will be working 24/7, both on road and in our control rooms, to keep the region's motorways and major A roads flowing and to keep drivers updated.
"Traffic could be higher than normal and we advise drivers to plan their journeys and to allow extra time."
Travel insurance benefits
Whichever home nation they plan to get behind in France, football fans heading to the continent this week should consider investing in travel insurance.
This can cover them against holiday mishaps which could cause them to remember their trip abroad for all the wrong reasons.
'Plan ahead'
Those heading to France via the roads are being urged to leave plenty of time when making the trip, to check travel conditions before embarking on their journey, and to ensure their cars are in good working order.
Highways England said it is advising tourist traffic to consider using the M2/A2, and freight and cruise traffic to use the M20/A20.
England's first game at the soccer tournament will be against Russia on Saturday evening (June 11), with ITV screening the action for those who can't make the trip to France in person.
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