ENGINES on the suspended Sandbanks Ferry will be tested today to see if the service can get up and running by the end of this week.

The company has said that repairs are still under way but they hope the ferry can be back in service within days.

They have, however, stressed there is no definite date for the service to resume and promised to let people know when they have more details.

The ferry was withdrawn from service on Wednesday September 12 after suffering a main hydraulic drive motor failure.

Since then there has been a succession of "time-consuming and costly" mechanical issues.

If the ferry is restored to use later as planned it will only be for a few weeks.

The company is planning a full refit to start on Monday, October 29, and last for four to six weeks.