[Scarlett.]

Mon Dieu! An unexpected 'invasion' of 50 French military vehicles caught Plymouth police and the Royal Navy by surprise and brought chaos to the city's roads.

As well as the usual fireworks, Bonfire Night in Plymouth also saw the French army hit our beaches... and immediately call Devon and Cornwall Police for help.

It has been 610 years since French soldiers last hit our shores and since then the French and Plymouth have had an Entente Cordiale relationship.

However, things were less than cordial last night as the 50 French military vehicles clogged up the city's roads and left motorists enraged.

Police say they were contacted by the French military at around 8.50pm asking for an escort from Millbay to St Mawgan in Cornwall where it is understood a military exercise is to take place.

Brittany Ferries confirmed the convoy arrived on the ferry Amorique at 8.10pm.

The convoy set off around 9.30pm and travelled through the city to the Carkeel roundabout where two traffic units from Cornwall escorted the vehicles the rest of the way.

The convoy was assisted by an additional six Military Police vehicles.

Frustrated motorists spoke of the convoy crawling across the Tamar bridge and west to Trefulefoot between 10pm and 11pm.

One witness, who encountered the convoy at about 10.55pm near the Trerulefoot roundabout, said he saw as many as "15 vehicles with blue flashing lights" escorting the French vehicles.

The motorist, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "It was a huge convoy with blue flashing lights at its front, middle and tail.

"It looked like it was escorting trucks and military vehicles like Land Rovers and lorries.

"It stretched, from the front of the convoy to the last civilian car, at least two miles. It was massive, it just went on and on. If you were at the back of it, you were just stuck.

"It looked liked they were evacuating Plymouth and nobody has told us. I had never seen anything on that scale.

"They weren't moving very fast. I would say they were doing 20-30 miles per hour."

The Royal Navy have admitted they were completely unaware the French had arrived or why they requested a police convoy.

A major exercise is being undertaken at St Mawgan involving 2,200 personnel.

On August 10, 1403 a force of 30 ships and 1,200 men landed in the east of the city before burning and plundering some 600 wooden and thatch-roofed houses. However, the next day, they quit the city, leaving that little corner of it to be renamed Breton Side.

Plymouth Herald