A TEENAGER has told of the terrifying episode that left her clinging desperately to the side of the Sandbanks ferry.

Vicky Redfern was on a speedboat which drifted into the side of the ferry and was at risk of capsizing.

The 18-year-old climbed on to the 10-inch-wide shelf and held on for fear of falling and being dragged under.

Vicky, from Bournemouth, had been on a day out in Poole Harbour with friend Phil Hodges, 19, and his dad Robert when the drama happened last Friday evening.

Phil had just got off at the Sandbanks slipway to use the toilet when the engine of the 18ft boat seized and it drifted on the current towards the ferry.

Robert, 48, feared the boat could be sucked under.

Vicky, who is waiting to join the army, said: “Rob told me to climb onto the ferry and hold onto the side in case the boat flipped over.

“I pushed myself up on to the side and sat there and drew my knees to my chest. I grabbed hold of the ledge either side of me to make sure I didn’t fall in.

“Luckily after about five minutes an RNLI lifeboat passed by and they got the ferry staff to open a side hatch for me.

“I got on to my feet and turned around so my back was to the water and held on to a railing above my head and shuffled sideways until I got to the door.

“It was a big relief when I stepped on to the right side of the ferry and I was even more pleased to see Rob being towed to safety.”

Robert, an engineer from Poole, said: “I got Vicky out on to the side of the chain ferry because I was worried the current and suction would make the boat flip up and she would fall out.

“It all happened so fast. I was just pleased that everyone was okay and came away with no injuries.”

A spokesman for the RNLI said: “The boat was perilously close to the ferry.

“It could easily have been sucked under as the conditions out in the harbour were rough and choppy.

“It had the potential to be a nasty incident and they were extremely lucky we just happened to be passing.”

Watch footage of a yacht being sucked under the ferry in 2001...