THE organisers of the Orkney Folk Festival have defended the company whose car ferry broke down, casting doubt over how many music enthusiasts will make it to this year's event.
Around 2000 people were expected to descend on Stromness for the four-day event, which runs from Thursday, May 23 until Sunday, May 26.
However, it now looks certain that the ferry Hamnavoe will not be back on the Scrabster-to-Stromness run, which most festival-goers would use, until May 25 at the earliest, after it broke down on Thursday last week.
Operator Serco NorthLink Ferries, official sponsor of the festival, is now working with the event's organisers to ensure other arrangements are in place.
Orkney Folk Festival director, Bob Gibbon, said: "While the company [Serco] has received a lot of public criticism for their response to this incident, I have to say that the local staff have been outstanding, and have really gone out of their way to help."
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