THERE are hour long delays on the Portsmouth to Fishbourne ferry route this afternoon (Friday).

A technical issue with one of the ships has lead to lengthy delays, of up to an hour.

The service is also operating a reduced timetable, due to high winds.

Writing on Twitter, Wightlink said: "We'll keep you updated and apologies for any changes to your travel plans."

UPDATED 2pm
The company has said customers are now experiencing delays of up to 90 minutes.

UPDATED 2.30pm
A spokesperson for Wightlink said the fault is with St Clare, who has now been taken out of service — although it may return to service at the end of the day.

When St Clare came into Fishbourne this morning the fault was discovered. As the ship was not able to leave the berth, the two other ferries had to wait in the Solent for half an hour, exacerbating the delays.

St Clare has now returned to Portsmouth and the two remaining ships are running.

A spokesperson said: "Victoria of Wight is running, and she's a big ship, so we hope to have the delay cleared soon."

UPDATED 10.30pm

Delays are continuing tonight.

Wightlink said shortly before 10.30pm: "Our teams are continuing to work hard to return to our scheduled timetable on our Portsmouth-Fishbourne car ferry service but we are still experiencing delays.

"Our apologies for any changes to your travel plans."