A ferry that crashed into the quayside at Harwich will be out of action for at least a week.

The DFDS Sirena Seaways ran into a hydraulic boarding ramp at Parkeston Quay at around midday on Saturday leaving all 489 passengers stranded on board for several hours.

As a result of the damage to the 23,000-tonne vessel, sailings have been suspended on the Harwich-Esbjerg service while the ship is repaired.

A DFDS Seaways spokesman said: “The assessment of the damage to the ferry has revealed that it needs to be repaired in dry dock.

“As a result, it is likely that the vessel will be out of service until at least Saturday, June 29.

“We would like to apologise to passengers for any inconvenience caused during this time.

“Our customer services team is working hard to find alternative transportation routes for all passengers booked on to the cancelled sailings.”