THE Sandbanks Ferry will be out of action for several weeks from Monday while its planned refit is carried out.

The last service will be at 11.10pm on Sunday November 2, and then the Bramble Bush chain ferry, which crosses the entrance to Poole Harbour between Sandbanks and Shell Bay, will be towed to Southampton the following day for work to begin, weather permitting.

Route 50 bus diversions between Bournemouth and Swanage will be in place via the A351.

The 48-car ferry, which has been in operation at the crossing since 1994, is refitted every two years.

In a statement on its website the firm said: “We expect that the ferry will be out of service for 4-5 weeks but we will do our best to keep the inevitable disruption to the minimum and return to service as soon as possible.”

Major resurfacing works to Panorama Road in Sandbanks have been scheduled at the same time as the ferry refit in order to minimise disruption.