A father and son want to open market-style food huts for hundreds of truckers expected to be sent to a lorry park if Brexit causes disruption.

Caterers Vic and Sam Bussey provided healthy buffet food from a marquee to thousands of lorry drivers stuck at Manston at Christmas.

They also delivered hot food to those queuing and in their vehicles.

Roping in help from relatives and Thanet pub empire Thorley Taverns, which opened its kitchen to make vats of soup, Vic and Sam managed to feed around 2,000 hungry drivers, in near freezing conditions.

The pair, who are about to launch home food delivery company Room Service and run Kentish Farm Produce, have a premises in Minster.

"We're just over the road from Manston and we wanted to help so we erected a marquee, 150ft by 30ft, and we did a buffet, offering healthy food such as fruit, fresh orange juice as well as croissants, wraps, that kind of thing, " said Vic.

"We catered for vegans and vegetarians - we were trying to cover everything.

"We also handed out hot food, so burgers and also soups. It was so cold and windy.

"It was all given completely free as the government is covering the bill.

"The drivers were so appreciative and well-mannered."

He added: "Jeff Hurd oversaw the whole project, he was the one that called us in. He made sure everything ran smoothly to get the 5000-plus lorries in and out - he did an incredible job."

Vic caters around the world at Grand Prix events and also private house parties and son Sam is a chef.

They are now drawing up plans to feed the many more lorry drivers expected at Manston due to changes at the country's borders following Brexit.

"Over Christmas it was just a mad rush to get food to thousands of truckers," he said.

"But now I'm putting together a presentation for an idea I have to give lorry drivers good nutritious food rather than just burgers and hot dogs from a van.

"I'd like to do market-style huts, like at a Christmas market, offering food from all different countries.

"To tie into this we want to use food that might otherwise have gone to waste, such as tomatoes from Thanet Earth, which can't be sold for whatever reason.

"We recently got a load of them and made huge vats of tomato soup and we've also made up samples of oven-dried tomatoes.

"This is with food that would have gone to waste and left to rot which creates greenhouse gasses.

"We want to utilise this by turning food waste into pickles, chutneys, oven-dried tomatoes, which can then go back into the market."

Vic, who lost his catering jobs at the Grand Prix due the pandemic as well as private Christmas bookings, has had a meeting at Manston about the food huts and is now writing a formal presentation with the hope bosses will give it the green light.

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