SIGHS of relief sounded over much of East Sussex as the Newhaven-Dieppe ferry line was saved for the umpteenth time.

Things had looked gloomy for the loss-making link earlier this year when no one seemed willing to come to the rescue.

But Calais’ misfortunes with marauding migrants and strikes by fierce looking French seamen have led to full ferries almost all the time between Newhaven and Dieppe.

Many people crossing to France had almost forgotten the line existed because of the Channel Tunnel and the former ease of using ferries between Dover and Calais.

But there has been a link between Newhaven and Dieppe for more than 150 years and geographically it is on the shortest route between London and Paris.

The service has been in a parlous plight for as long as I can remember. For many years it was run jointly by British Railways and the state-owned French outfit SNCF.

When car ferries began to replace passenger steamers soon after the Second World War, the two nationalised rail operators kept three ferries on the route which always appeared to be grossly overstaffed.

Eventually, British Rail could not take its share of the losses any more and the French were left to carry the burden themselves.

They have reckoned that it is in their interests to do so since nine out of ten passengers are British.

But the losses have been large despite many efforts to make the route more alluring.

These included sending some of the ferries to Le Havre but that is a less attractive port than Dieppe.

A catamaran cut the journey time from four to two and a half hours on the rare occasions when all its four engines were working. But it could not travel in rough seas and even in gentle breezes its motion was enough for it to be called the Vomit Comet.

Dieppe is by common consent the most charming of the Channel ports and has profited from being a holiday destination for the Brits.

But ever since the French ferry terminal was moved from the town centre to a new site with good access to the main road network, the temptation for many travellers has been to give Dieppe a miss.

On the Sussex side of the Channel, ferries still tie up fairly near the heart of Newhaven but many visitors might wish they did not.

Various attempts have been made to breathe life into Newhaven, such as opening the fort to the public and creating a lot of family attractions at a garden centre.

But the town centre is dismal and is dying on its feet.

There are many plans for revitalising Newhaven but few of them ever come to much. The ferry terminal and access are almost as dire as the town centre and are less than welcoming.

There is plenty to amuse visitors from France if they can get past Newhaven including Brighton, the Downs, Lewes and even London. But to increase their numbers substantially, the port and town have to be improved in a big way.

As for Dieppe, it needs far better connections between the port and town to tempt the tourists back into the many charming restaurants and shops.

It is surprising to say the least that the ferry link has survived all the threats to its future but there is no guarantee that the subsidies will keep coming.

In the meantime the ferry operators need to make sure it does not remain a secret to so many people.

Few journalists find they are commemorated after death, especially in another country. But there is a street in Dieppe named after the Brighton-based hack Peter Avis.

Peter was a Communist who formed close links with members of the Left-wing coalition which more often than not ran Dieppe council. He also took a contingent of Sussex lefties each year to France on what was grandiloquently called the Great Dieppe Trip.

After being received by the Mayor, complete with sash, the Brits would consume a great deal of food and wine at meals Peter called banquets. His fluent French led him to work for Left wing papers across the Channel while his excellent English gained him a job on The Observer.

He also wrote one of the best guides I have ever read called A Taste of Dieppe which was distributed free on the ferries.

Peter’s pals are proud of the place name in Dieppe and the fact that he is on the front of a Brighton bus. But the best tribute to him would be for the ferry operators to republish the guide, suitably updated. It would also be brilliant for business.