UPDATE 3-'Sick man of Europe': UK cut off over fears about new COVID strain

* UK says French freight closure is 'surprising'

* Much of Europe cuts travel ties with UK

* Sainsbury's warns of shortages in certain foods

* Sterling, stocks and bond yields fall

* UK due to exit EU's orbit on Dec. 31

* Brexit talks continue
(Adds Sainsbury's)

By Gerhard Mey and Ben Makori

DOVER, England, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The United Kingdom stood
shut off from the rest of Europe on Monday after allies cut
transport ties over fears of a new coronavirus strain, sowing
chaos for families, truckers and supermarkets just days before
the Brexit cliff edge.

France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria,
Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium, Israel and Canada were among
those that shut off travel ties after Prime Minister Boris
Johnson warned that a highly infectious new strain of the virus
was a danger to the country.

Johnson will chair an emergency response meeting on Monday
to discuss international travel, in particular the flow of
freight in and out of Britain. EU officials are due to hold a
meeting at 1000 GMT on coordinating their response.

France shut its border to arrivals of people and trucks from
the United Kingdom, closing off one of the most important trade
arteries with mainland Europe, a step Transport Secretary Grant
Shapps said was surprising.

"We're doing everything we can to get that restarted,"
Shapps told Sky. "They've said to us they want to restart the
hauliers as quickly as possible."

As families and truck drivers tried to navigate the travel
bans to get back home in time for Christmas, Britain's
second-largest supermarket chain, Sainsbury's, said
gaps will start to appear on shelves within days if transport
ties are not quickly restored with mainland Europe.

"If nothing changes, we will start to see gaps over the
coming days on lettuce, some salad leaves, cauliflowers,
broccoli and citrus fruit – all of which are imported from the
continent at this time of year," Sainsbury's said.

Shellfish producers in Scotland said they had tonnes of
perishable products stranded on roads as the French border was
closed. Disruption in Britain will also snarl supplies to
Ireland.

Hong Kong is also due to ban all flights arriving from the
United Kingdom from midnight, becoming the first city in Asia to
do so. Asian nations including Japan and South Korea said they
were closely monitoring the new strain.

The pound fell more than 2 cents to $1.3279 and the FTSE 100
fell 2% at the open, with travel companies such as British
Airways-owner IAG tumbling 15%. The yield on 2-year UK
gilts hit a record low.

TRANSPORT CHAOS

Britain's Shapps said getting the bans lifted as swiftly as
possible was his priority but that given British preparations
for the end of the Brexit transition period, the country was
well positioned for disruption.

Johnson on Saturday cancelled Christmas plans for millions
of British people due to what he said was a more infectious
strain of the coronavirus, though he said there was no evidence
that it was either more lethal or caused a more severe illness.

The new variant contains 23 different changes, many of them
associated with how it binds to cells and enters them. Shapps
said Britain had done some of the best global analysis of the
mutations of the virus so it was simply seeing what was already
at large in other countries.

The British government triggered plans it had for stacking
up trucks in the southeast county of Kent - part of its plans
for potential disruption when the United Kingdom exits the EU's
orbit with - or without - a trade deal at 2300 GMT on Dec. 31.

Talks on a Brexit trade deal were due to continue on Monday.

'SICK MAN OF EUROPE'

Trucks are being stacked on the M20 motorway through Kent,
heading towards the ports, which is closed to normal traffic. A
nearby airport will also be used to hold freight.

"Sick Man of Europe", the Daily Mirror newspaper said on its
front page beside a picture of Johnson while the Sun newspaper
said "French show no merci".

The closure of the Channel Tunnel and ports for onward
travel to France will affect the export of goods such as fish
and shell fish from Scotland to Europe, and the import of food
for British supermarkets if, as expected, European drivers
refuse to travel.

Trucks have been told to avoid Kent to prevent any further
build up of trucks.

Jon Swallow, a director of the British logistics group
Jordon Freight, said the move by France would deter European
drivers from coming to Britain both now and after the end of the
year for fear they will get stuck.

"This is a serious situation as the stockpiled goods
expected here are for Christmas and to help stabilise January,"
he told Reuters. "This shows how fragile the cross channel route
is."
(Additional reporting by Toby Melville and James Davey; Writing
by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Kate Holton and Alison
Williams)