London, Jul 23 (IANS): Passengers on Saturday were facing major delays at Dover, the nearest English port to France, due to increased French security checks.

Roads leading to the port in Kent are experiencing heavy traffic. Kent Police has advised motorists to expect "very, very long delays", the BBC reported.

A port spokesman said heightened checks at the border and the high volume of traffic was behind the delays.

Although there were no delays at the Channel Tunnel terminal but travellers have been told it will take 90 minutes to check in due to extra security procedures.

The Port of Dover issued an update at 6.45 a.m. saying delays were now standing at seven hours - four hours on surrounding roads and three hours inside the buffer zone, the Kent Online reported.

France has stepped up security measures since the Bastille Day terrorist attack killed 84 people in Nice on July 15. It also increased the state of emergency by an additional three months.

The country remains under a state of emergency declared after 130 people died in a series of terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015.