"FIVE thousand of you gave Wightlink a good idea of demand!"

The news that Wightlink is bringing back its late night FastCat sailings has been celebrated this week.

Harriet Hadfield, a journalist who set up a petition signed by thousands of passengers asking Wightlink to reinstate the sailings, was among those delighted to hear the news.

She said: "I'm sure 5,500-plus of you signing this petition gave Keith (Greenfield, Wightlink CEO) and Wightlink a good idea of demand and potential customer numbers.

"A huge thank you to everyone for signing, sharing and supporting.

"Let's hope the changes are here for good and not just for the summer season."

The petition has been changed on the website to "victory" status.

Click here to see the petition

MP Bob Seely has long campaigned for minimum services levels on cross-Solent travel, raising the issue in the House of Commons.

He has also welcomed the news of later sailings.

He said: "I fought hard for the return of these sailings because they’re important to Islanders. This is a great result."

 

Leader of the IW Council's Conservative group, Joe Robertson, said: "I welcome the announcement by Wightlink that there will be some later services however it is disappointing that they have not returned to a pre-Covid service.

"I know that Bob Seely has been working hard over many months and years to ensure that late evening services return and I joined him in a meeting with Wightlink's CEO late last year to discuss timetable details.

"With our MP's efforts, and constructive dialogue with Wightlink, this is an important step to seeing more regular ferries."

Bronwyn Hamilton Brown, admin of the Wightlink Users Facebook group, said: "This is fantastic news…however, our groups polls show we really would appreciate the 10.45pm moved to 11pm so we can attend concerts!"

The new sailings come in from March 27.