Furious Isle of Wight locals have accused ferry companies of holding them to ransom and say they can't wait to move after being charged £440 for a return ticket to the mainland.'Ridiculous' ferry prices, cancellations, and delays are blighting their lives with some now wishing they had never moved to the island who say it is making them feel 'completely cut off from society'.
The journey to the Isle of Wight is four miles from Lymington, six miles from Portsmouth, and 10 miles from Southampton. 'There was effectively a curfew because the last boat was at 8.20pm - even Cinderella got to stay out until midnight. Ms Hamilton-Brown said Paula Brizelden's story was instrumental in the £70 limit being implemented last April.
When Mr Tunnell had sepsis, a stroke, and dehydration, his life saving trip to hospital was delayed as there was no space for the ambulance on the ferry. 'He was very ill, there was no help at the ferry. He was sitting among a lot of people, one day before the Covid lockdown.'He's had sepsis twice. I could not afford to go more than once a week.
Ms Brizelden's partner Christopher Tunnell had a life-saving hospital trip to the mainland delayed because there was no room on the ferryRichard Heywood, also part of the Wightlink Users Group, pointed out the contradiction between this and the ferry companies' marketing. Read More Bear Grylls' mother joins fight against 130 luxury homes in Isle of Wight village 'They are working in cahoots.'
Simon Jackson, 46, set up a petition on August 2 to raise the issue nationally, and it already has more than 4,000 signatures 'Something that stops them charging ridiculous amounts of money, it would be good to have set fares.'