Dartmouth ferry re-opens

A new vaccine for a deadly livestock virus has been approved by government vets.

Schmallenberg virus causes birth defects in sheep and cattle. It's carried by midges and the south west has seen the largest numbers of cases. The vaccine should be available by this summer.

Dartmouth's Lower Ferry is back in service after being out of operation for nearly five months. Rebuilding the slipways took longer than expected. Now motorists can return to their usual way of crossing the Dart.

As Dartmouth Lower Ferry re-opens after a million pound refurbishment, here's a chance to see Jonathan Gibson's report as work on the slipways began.

The Dartmouth Lower Ferry has resumed sailing between Kingswear and Dartmouth after six months. It stopped while £1 million repairs to the slipways took place.

The Dartmouth Lower Ferry has re-opened this morning [Tuesday] after 19 weeks of construction work. The refurbishment involved rebuilding the slipways at a cost of £1m.

The ferry closed in early January but due to unforeseen circumstances the re-opening was delayed for some weeks.

Work has started to refurbish one of the region's most historic ferry links between Dartmouth and Kingswear. The lower ferry slipways on both sides of the river are being extended and resurfaced at a cost of more than a million pounds.

It is hoped the link, which dates back to the 1700s, will reopen by Easter. However, although the lower ferry will be out of service, the new high capacity higher ferry is running as normal for those wishing to cross the River Dart. Our correspondent Jonathan Gibson reports.

Work has started on a multi-million pound project to refurbish one of the West Country's oldest ferry crossings. The Lower Ferry has provided a link between Dartmouth and Kingswear since the 1700s.

We spoke to Councillor Bill Hitchens from South Hams District Council...