Ardrossan-Arran ferry route 'to be restored within 24 hours'

CalMac's MV Caledonian Isles was unable to berth at Ardrossan.

One of Scotland's busiest ferry routes should return to service within 24 hours, port operators have said.

The failure of both linkspans at Ardrossan has caused days of disruption with vehicles unable to transfer from the CalMac ferry to the off ramp.

It meant the route between the North Ayrshire port and Brodick on the Isle of Arran has been left passenger-only.

Peel Ports, which operates the Ardrossan site, said "good progress" was being made on repairs.

• Technical failure causes major disruption to Arran ferry

• Businesses hit by Arran ferry disruption

A company spokeswoman said: "We can confirm repairs to the linkspan are under way.

"Once the work is completed, a full safety testing regime will be initiated."

Businesses hit

The spokeswoman added that, subject to weather conditions, normal operations should resume on Wednesday.

The issue emerged on Sunday and has caused disruption to services and island life since.

One hotelier told BBC Scotland that 50 customers had cancelled bookings as a result of the problems.

The MV Caledonian Isles, which serves the route between Ardrossan and Brodick, was initially diverted to Troon, 10 miles (16km) south of the intended destination.

CalMac had said it was pressing Peel Ports to get the problem fixed urgently.

The ferry company said both technical failures were outside its control and it had tried to minimise disruption as much as possible.

Peel Ports has apologised for the inconvenience caused and said the company "remained committed to resuming the service as soon as possible".