The leader of the Isle of Wight Council has confirmed plans are afoot for a fresh approach to Government over Island ferries and their "unreliability".

At a meeting of the council's Corporate Scrutiny Committee last night (Tuesday), Cllr Phil Jordan said he intends to work with the Island's two new MPs in the hope of introducing a Public Service Obligation (PSO).

PSOs are commonly used for airlines and trainlines to ensure certain service and pricing levels are maintained.

Chair of the committee, Cllr Clare Mosdell, said major disruption on Red Funnel on Monday, July 15 proved "just how difficult it can be" for Islanders.

She was among those caught up in the cancellations, which saw the firm's vehicle service completely suspended for a large part of the day, following a technical issue with the linkspan.

Cllr Mosdell said it left her "stuck on the mainland" and accused the other ferry operator, Wightlink, of hiking prices.

Speaking at the meeting, she said: "In events like yesterday, it does not give the other operator the right to put the prices up."

She said the cost to travel on Wightlink was around £200 more than usual, for the same journey.

Similar concerns were also shared by IW West MP Richard Quigley, yesterday.

In response, Wightlink said the company made no alterations to its fare pricing policy, as a result of Red Funnel's difficulties.

"Mondays in July are always very busy at Wightlink. However, we have worked with Red Funnel to support its customers, by carrying them on our vehicle ferries — wherever we have space,"  a spokesperson for the company said.

Although the council has "limited" power and cannot bring forward legislation for ferries itself, Isle of Wight Council CEO, Wendy Perera hoped talks with the Island's two new MPs could give the local authority a "voice and narrative".

Council leader Cllr Phil Jordan said: "We will be urging our MPs to intervene and are working towards an approach to go to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to see whether they can intervene with a Public Service Obligation."

He said attempts had been made in the past but the previous Government deemed that services to the Island were "efficient and sufficient".