The Isle of Wight floating bridge has been suspended earlier than planned following an unexpected technical issue.

The Cowes to East Cowes floating bridge was scheduled to be removed from service from Monday (September 23) but suffered a 'drive issue' yesterday afternoon (Friday, September 20).

As a result, the Isle of Wight Council, which operate the service, decided to bring forward the suspension period to include this weekend.

The floating bridge will be out of service until 5am next Friday (September 27) to enable the original planned work to take place.

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The works will see the north and south drive chains replaced, along with other ancillary works.

A launch service will be in place for cyclists and pedestrians during the suspended service, running daily from 5am until 10.50pm.

The original planned work follows a vote by councillors earlier this year to replace the Floating Bridge 6, which has been plagued with issues since it came into service in 2017.