Ferry bad! Hundreds of passengers on their return to UK who were only 15 minutes from reaching shore are suddenly taken back to France as boat U-turns due to ‘mechanical fault’ at port
- DFDS ferry 15 minutes from docking in Sussex turned around due to broken ramp
- Boat returned to Dieppe adding extra 24 hours to furious passengers’ journey
- All trips between Newhaven, Sussex and Dieppe, France cancelled this morning
- Has this affected YOU? Email katie.french@mailonline.co.uk
Hundreds of passengers aboard a ferry were left furious after the vessel 15 minutes away from its destination turned around and travelled back to France.
It had taken four hours to arrive at Newhaven in Sussex on Sunday night when the DFDS Seaways ferry decided to make a u-turn and travel back to Dieppe.
Travellers were moments from arriving ashore when it was announced the port’s docking mechanism was broken.
Hundreds of passengers aboard a ferry were left furious after the vessel 15 minutes away from its destination turned around and travelled back to France
One passenger described it as ‘awful’ and said people were ‘going crazy’ when they were forced to endure the four-hour journey back to Dieppe.
They were told they would have to continue their journey home via Calais, 116 miles away and then sail to Dover instead.
This meant passengers didn’t arrive back in the UK for another 24 hours after a mammoth journey of buses and boats, The Sun reported.
Roy Hatley, 56, who was with daughter Izzy, 15, told the newspaper: ‘We stayed on the ferry overnight and had a free breakfast, but some people were getting upset. I lost a day’s holiday and Izzy missed a trip to the Tower of London.’
One passenger described it as ‘awful’ and said people were ‘going crazy’ when they were forced to endure the four-hour journey back to Dieppe
A spokesman for DFDS UK replied to a customer on Twitter: ‘Unfortunately due to technical problems with a ramp in Newhaven, Seven Sisters is unable to dock.
‘The Seven Sisters will be heading back to Dieppe. Apologies for the inconvenience caused.’
Newhaven Port Authority and DFDS has been contacted for comment.
All ferries on the route between been cancelled until this afternoon due to the broken ramp.
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