THE recent saga of the Sandbanks Ferry reminds me that for well over a century, there was a regular boat service between the piers at Bournemouth and Swanage, which carried thousands of passengers each year.

Sadly, that is no longer available owing to the council failing to maintain the landing stages at Bournemouth.

In addition, the recent practice of pumping tons of sand onto the beach has reduced the water depth at the pier so that it is no longer possible for any reasonable sized boat to moor.

That is the reason the last company ceased operating.

For those people demanding that the ferry company be stripped of its licence is nonsense.

As far as I am aware, the company does not require a licence, as such, as it operates under the authority of an Act of Parliament.

The fact is that the ferry is a mechanical piece of machinery which is liable to fail without notice, just as is any road vehicle, train or aircraft.

Changing the ferry company would not alter that situation.

As the broken drive shaft was supposed to last the lifetime of the vessel, instead of blaming the ferry company, answers should be sought from the drive shaft maker as to what went wrong.

DAVID CHALK

Corscombe Close,

Weymouth