P&O ferry Pride of Hull departs in first service since mass sacking

The Pride of Hull set sail for the first time since P&O Ferries sacked 800 workers

A ferry that has been out of service since the sacking of 800 P&O workers has set sail to the Netherlands.

The Pride of Hull, carrying freight from Hull to Rotterdam, left at about 20:30 BST and will return with passengers on Wednesday.

It is the first service since P&O's decision last month to sack staff in favour of lower-paid replacements.

However, despite passing checks to carry cargo and passengers, the RMT union says the ferry should be stopped.

Union representatives have written to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps urging him to ban the ship from sailing on safety grounds.

More than 80 crew members in Hull were sacked without warning by P&O in a video call on 17 March.

The firings triggered a sit-in by the Pride of Hull crew, who occupied the vessel in the city's King George Dock for more than five hours.

Protests were also held at the quayside.

P&O Ferries claimed that without the redundancies the business was "not sustainable" after losing £100m last year.