CalMac ferry passengers stranded overnight on Isle of Arran

About 60 people were left stranded overnight on the Isle of Arran on Saturday after the last ferry was cancelled by thick fog.

Passengers, including a children's football team, said they had to pay for alternative accommodation on the island on Scotland's west coast.

Some were unable to board the 18:30 service when the 19:20 sailing was cancelled at just two hours notice.

Operator CalMac said the MV Alfred had reached its legal capacity quickly.

Safety issues, such as life jacket availability, needed to be considered in regard to passenger numbers, it added.

Several routes across Clyde and Argyll were affected by heavy fog, resulting in the cancellation of the final sailing.

The catamaran, which can carry 430 passengers and 98 cars, only began operating on the Firth of Clyde route on Friday.

It was brought into service between Arran and Ardrossan to support the main ferry, MV Caledonian isles, which can carry up to 1,000 passengers.

Police were called to Brodick harbour as boarding for the 18:30 sailing got under way. CalMac said officers had worked with terminal staff to help assist passengers.

Some on board the vessel reported that many seats were still available when MV Alfred departed.

Tim Lush from Glasgow was on Arran for a day trip. He was booked on the 18:30 sailing in his car.

He told the BBC: "They let through a wave of foot passengers and then a second wave came on, but they were being blocked at the entrance.

"We let three German tourists come into our car so they could get onto the ferry.

"There were only one and a half lanes out of three filled with cars. It only looked at about 50% capacity."

One group left behind told BBC Scotland they had to pay hundreds of pounds to hire a minibus and find a B&B for the night.

The 18 children from Prestwick Caley 2010s football team were on a day trip to climb Goatfell mountain.

"We were booked on the last sailing, but got a text saying it was cancelled but the catamaran was running," said team chaperone Laura.

"When we got there, they wouldn't let us on because we were not pre-booked - but you can't book the new catamaran."

Laura said they were told MV Alfred could not take additional passengers due to staffing issues.

She added: "We had to pay £300 for a hostel, £80 for a bus and £50 for pizza for the kids."

"CalMac staff just told us to write a complaint.

"I understand that these things happen and you can't sort the weather, but it was chaotic and poorly handled."

One couple was offered accommodation in a garden lodge. Others stayed overnight at the terminal.

On the island's Arran Moans and Groans Facebook page, residents reported that they had to accommodate about 60 stranded passengers.

The island's youth hostel wrote: "We were fully booked before the ferries were cancelled and they keep just sending people without even calling us."

Another wrote: "Very poor to the point of embarrassing on how visitors to this lovely island were treated last night."

CalMac's Area Operations Manager Don McKillop said: "This was an extremely difficult decision to make, but sailing in those conditions was not possible.

"Full capacity on MV Alfred was reached quickly, meaning that, unfortunately, several foot passengers could not get on the last ferry."

CalMac said staff in Brodick worked "extremely hard" to find accommodation for passengers and a small number were supported to stay in the terminal building.

They issued an appeal on Facebook and gave food to those unable to find a place to stay overnight.

Problems have been plaguing CalMac's west coast fleet for months.

The MV Alfred was chartered to provide relief services to cover frequent breakdowns.

The Scottish government provided £9m for the nine-month loan from Orkney's Pentland Ferries.

MV Alfred has been deemed suitable for use at other CalMac ports - including Lochmaddy and Ullapool.

The incident comes after Scottish government minister Lorna Slater was criticised on Friday for chartering a private boat to Rum, instead of using scheduled CalMac sailings.