Cumbrae Community Council are pursuing the problem regarding the ferry warning light system not working at the ferry terminal.

The matter was raised during last month's community council meeting in relation to the lights within the vicinity of the Cumbrae ferry slip which alert people to whether the ferries are not running due to adverse weather or another reason.

It was noted at the council meeting that "no one seems to accept responsibility for the fact that the ferry warning light system no longer works".

The community council are of the view that SMS message are of no use to visitors who will not be registered for this service. It was suggested that, with the low cost of LED lighting, a traffic light system would be beneficial to alert people to the possibility of suspension of services – as used on Calmac’s website. Cumbrae Community Council will raise this matter at the next meeting of the Ferry User’s Group.

The 'News' understands the light has not worked for a number of years, and the BT connection for it is not one that Cal Mac owns.

A CalMac spokesman said: 'We are aware of this issue and note that it is again on the agenda for the next Ferry Users Group where we look forward to hearing their views on how it can be resolved.

‘There are a number of ways that we keep passengers informed of any potential disruption. We recently introduced a traffic light warning system for sailings on our website that keeps travellers up to date with any changes to timetabled sailings and passengers can also sign up for our text alert system.’

‘We also proactively engage with all media outlets to keep passengers informed of any changes to the timetable.'