Anxious wait for Christmas parcels as weather disrupts sailings again

Online shoppers in the Island are facing an anxious wait for deliveries, held-up by the loss of ferry sailings due to bad weather.

This morning Douglas to Heysham service and return later have been cancelled, after Wednesday night's sailing was also lost.

Island carrier firms have been handling growing volumes of parcels for private customers at Christmas in recent years.

Manx Independent Carriers based at Snugborough in Braddan expects to deliver more than 48,000 parcels during three weeks in December, brought in by containers.

Managing Director John Quaye says when sailings are lost this close to Christmas, backlogs can quickly build up: