Holidaymakers who feared they could be stranded on the Isles of Scilly this evening due to a fault leaving the Scillonian III have set sail at last.

The ferry has developed an electrical fault and it was at first unclear whether it could be fixed in time to return to Penzance later this evening.

A spokesperson for Isles of Scilly Steamship Group, which operates the ferry service, said: "The Scillonian III has developed an electrical fault which means that until this is fixed, she is unable to sail.

"At this time passengers cannot board as essential services are not operating."

They said a team including two electrical engineers and two members of Isles of Scilly Steamship Group's senior management team were currently en route to the islands.

"We are investigating whether the vessel can be made serviceable in time to return to Penzance later this evening. "We are exploring contingency plans should this not be possible," added the spokesperson.

However, the fault on the Scillonian III has been rectified and it left St Mary's at 7.30pm.