Trade has been diverted to the Humber and away from overwhelmed and struggling ports at Dover since Britain left the EU, according to a boss.

Dafydd Williams, of Associated British Ports (ABP), told councillors in East Yorkshire that trade had come to the Humber because land constraints in Dover made it harder to accommodate Brexit backlogs. But, he added, checks on EU goods due in 2024 could cause lorry traffic delays like those seen in Kent if space runs out for them in the Humber.

It comes as the council's Safer and Stronger Communities Sub-Committee heard EU goods continue to be largely waved through after the Government pushed back checks. The committee heard it was possible the Government may decide to keep the system as it is from 2024 but Mr Williams said checks remain on course to start then.

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The ABP representative said the current regime meant they were doing fewer checks on goods than they were before Brexit because goods are now being waived through. Mr Williams said the re-routing of trade had been good for business from ABP's point of view.

But he added it was hard to tell if the overall volume of trade had increased or whether it had just moved from Dover. Mr Williams said: "There's been a significant increase in trade flow as a direct consequence of what's been happening in Dover.

Humber ports have seen an increase in trade re-routed from Dover

"The one exception is the car industry which has seen a downturn globally because of microchips. We don't have a huge additional capacity for lorries.

"We have seen some lorry stacking at peak times around 6am and 3pm but that's largely down to the way we manage containers. It will be interesting to see how things change in 2024."

Councillors heard the four ports in the Humber region together take around 17 per cent of the UK's trade, mostly destined for the North and Midlands. Around 10 per cent of the nation's energy supplies come through the ports as well as a quarter of all refined oil imported into the UK.

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