The UK government on Tuesday scrapped a truck driver permit scheme that had been designed to ease congestion at Channel ports in southeast England following Brexit.

The Department for Transport said the scheme would be axed after the resumption of normal trade between Britain and the European mainland.

The scheme has been abandoned "thanks to hauliers arriving at the border prepared" and as freight volumes "continue to operate at normal levels", the DfT said in a statement.

After Britain's divorce from the European Union at the start of this year, lorry drivers were required to obtain permits to drive into the county of Kent, which has several Channel ports, including the busiest, Dover.

The Kent Access Permits -- dubbed "Kermits" -- were designed to show they had pre-cleared customs checks.

The DfT added Tuesday that a moveable barrier to ease traffic on the M20 motorway, which links Kent with the coast, will be removed on Saturday.

Britain began life outside the EU's single market and customs union on January 1 after finalising its divorce from the bloc in a last-gasp deal on Christmas Eve.

The 11th hour trade deal between London and Brussels averted the need for tariffs and quotas that could have sparked severe disruption.

Official data showed last week that UK exports to the EU rebounded sharply in February.

However, the performance still failed to reverse January's record Brexit-driven slump.

The value of British goods exported to the EU jumped by 46.6 percent or £3.7 billion ($5.1 billion, 4.3 billion euros) from the prior month, driven by cars and pharmaceuticals.

The nation's EU exports had nosedived by a record 42 percent or £5.7 billion in January.

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