P&O Ferries helps out stranded Eurostar passengers

P&O Ferries came to the rescue of hundreds of stranded Eurostar passengers over the weekend by laying on a fleet of coaches to carry them across the Channel.

The high-speed rail company has been forced to cancel its services over the past three days after heavy snow and low temperatures caused a number of its trains to break down.

P&O Ferries, which operates regular daily crossings on the Dover to Calais ferry route, revealed that many people have been coming to Dover after hearing of Eurostar's problems.

Spokesman Chris Laming said: "To avoid them having to spend a night at terminals in either Calais or Dover, we're putting on these coaches to enable them to get across the Channel.

"At one point we had 500 Eurostar passengers at Dover and at Calais."

Seafrance also operates on the Dover to Calais ferry route, while LD Lines and Norfolkline offer ferries to Boulogne and Dunkerque respectively from Dover.

Eurostar's engineers are currently working on the problems with the trains and the company is hoping to resume services soon.

Posted by Andrew Smith