Dozens of people had to be helped off a ferry after it broke down in the Kingsbridge Estuary on Thursday, October 26.

The Lady Mary, a 50-seat passenger vessel that operates the Kingsbridge-Salcombe ferry service, became stranded in the middle of the estuary at around 2.45pm after departing from Salcombe at 2pm with about 22 people on board.

The vessel then dropped anchor and radioed for help.

According to reports, the incident lasted about an hour, from the moment the ferry broke down to when all the passengers were taken off and picked up by two open top launches from the Salcombe Harbour Authority.

Just under half the people were taken back to Salcombe and the remainder to Kingsbridge in three separate trips. No injuries were reported.

A passenger who wished to remain anonymous and was on board at the time told this paper: “They were very professional and there was no panic – everyone was really calm.”