On Friday 27th March the Hayling Ferry ceased trading without warning. The ferry operators, the Edwards family, refused to comment on the sudden closure of the service they have run for 30 years.

Administrators have been called in following a year of problems which saw the boats out of action for months and fines for overloading and not having enough life jackets on board. However, Hampshire County Council, which part-funded the service, says it has no obligation to keep it going because it was a commercial operation. The ferry linked Hayling Island and Eastney (Portsmouth) across Langstone Harbour and now about 70 school children and commuters face a 32-mile round-trip instead of a three-minute ride on the ferry to/from Eastney.

In 2014 the operator was fined £6,000 for carrying too many passengers on one of its ferries, the Tina Marie, which is certified to carry 12 passengers and two crew, but landed between 16 and 27 passengers at Hayling Island, during four crossings in January and February 2014. This issue surely placed a heavy financial burden on an already marginal and subsidised operation. The ferry service had been running for more than 200 years. A campaign is underway to reinstate the passenger ferry as soon as possible.