Around 20 cars and about the same number of foot passengers were left stranded on the River Medina this afternoon (Thursday), when the Isle of Wight Floating Bridge broke down after engine failure.

At 3pm, it spent around 45 minutes about ten feet from the Cowes side, while staff worked to get it going.

A plan to call out engineers and bring in a replacement launch was not needed when the chain ferry managed to get back to Cowes.

Passengers did not disembark.

Instead, the chain ferry was successfully restarted and has since resumed service.

It led to large queues of pedestrians waiting to cross the river, mainly Cowes Enterprise College pupils trying to get home.

We are awaiting a statement from the Isle of Wight Council.

The future of the troubled bridge is being considered after legal case was recently settled.

Details of the agreement have not been made public.