Town to lose cross-Channel ferry

A cross-Channel ferry to France which has been operating from a Dorset town for the past 17 years will be withdrawn due to declining passenger numbers. Brittany Ferries said the Barfleur ferry between Poole and Cherbourg had been losing money since 2003 and would be taken out of service in the spring. But the firm revealed it had bought a new £75m ferry to increase sailings from Portsmouth to northern Spain. Poole councillor Ron Barker said the move was a blow to tourism in Dorset.