Issues with two Isle of Wight Red Funnel ferries have led to cancellations and at least three-hour-long delays on cross-Solent travel today (Thursday, August 1).

As previously reported by the County Press, Red Funnel announced last night that eight scheduled sailings between East Cowes and Southampton had been cancelled.

The disruption was said to be caused by an issue with Red Eagle's Voith unit.

This lunchtime, around 12 hours later, the ferry operator announced further cancellations due to a sewage system issue on board Red Osprey.

As a result, the 12pm and 3pm sailings from Southampton and the 1.30pm and 4.30pm crossings from East Cowes were added to the cancellation list.

Due to the issues, currently still running vehicle ferry services are expecting 'delays of up to three to four hours'.

A spokesperson said: "If you would prefer to cancel your sailing and seek an alternative or amend to another day, please use our amend / cancellation page.

"Please note, we are extremely busy throughout the day and will not be able to offer any alternative sailings for today."

"If you would still like to travel with us, please expect a delay of at least three hours to your original departure and adjust your arrival time for check-in accordingly.

"Apologies for any inconvenience caused to your journey."