Isle of Wight floating bridge resumes after IT glitch

Crossings between East Cowes and Cowes were stopped after the problem was found on 16 July

A chain ferry is set to resume crossings after being out of service for a month due to a software fault.

The Floating Bridge, which links Cowes with East Cowes, had to stop running after the defect was found on 16 July.

Isle of Wight Council said a "manual hard switch system" had been fitted to the ferry to replace the failed software.

The authority said following a Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) inspection it would restart at 14:00 BST.

The latest breakdown put the ferry out of action during Cowes Week - the island's annual sailing regatta that attracts thousands of sailors and visitors.

When Floating Bridge No 6 is not running motorists face a 12-mile (19km) detour via Newport.

The £3.2m chain ferry has been plagued with issues since it started service in 2017.

The council previously considered replacing it due to problems including breakdowns, broken chains, excessive noise and cars scraping their bumpers.