Hundreds stranded on Isle of of Man Ben-my-Chree ferry

The vessel has 280 passengers on board

Hundreds of passengers were stuck on a ferry in a harbour on the Isle of Man.

The 14:07 GMT Ben-my-Chree sailing from Heysham, Lancashire to Douglas, with 280 passengers on board, was unable to dock at 17:40.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company said it could not berth due to a "technical fault".

The scheduled 19:45 sailing from Douglas to Heysham and 02:15 return were cancelled as a result.

A passenger stranded on the ferry Campbell Guy said: "We were just coming into port... and the engine just kind of died."

Mr Guy said it took about half an hour before passengers were given any information.

The firm said in a statement on its website: "The vessel experienced a technical fault as it entered Douglas harbour and is currently unable to reach her usual berth.

"Our engineers are currently assessing the situation and a further update will be issued in due course."

Just before 22.30, the company posted on Facebook: "The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company can confirm that the Ben-my-Chree has now been moved to one of her normal berths with the assistance of a tug to enable passengers and vehicles to disembark the vessel.

"Steam Packet engineers will work overnight to assess the situation with the damage to the engine.

"A further update will be issued at 07:00 hours Friday."