Delays of up to six hours and cancellations have hit the first crossings of the latest ferry to be introduced on the troubled Newhaven to Dieppe route.

Sailings of the 17,500 tonne vessel Dieppe, which made its first scheduled passenger crossings at the weekend, were cancelled today because of fog outside the French port.

Authorities would not allow the vessel to dock this morning after a French fishing vessel crashed into the harbour wall in the fog just before the Dieppe was due in at 3am.

Passengers and lorry drivers had to wait off the French coast for six hours while the fog lifted and the authorities deemed it was safe for the Dieppe to enter port.

It meant today's 9am sailing from Newhaven was cancelled as the ship was still in Dieppe.

The ship, operated by French-owned Transmanche Ferries was scheduled to make its 4pm crossing from Dieppe today.

The new vessel, formerly called the Saga Star, was introduced to the route on Saturday. It replaces the 12,000-tonne Sardinia Vera, which has gone for a refit.

Sailings of the Sardinia Vera had to be cancelled for several days at the end of last year while modifications were made to the vessel after it failed safety checks.

Angry passengers arrived back at Newhaven last night after a frustrating journey from France on the Dieppe. Many were fans returning after England's defeat by France in the rugby international in Paris.

The ship, with about 70 passengers and cars on board, was nearly three hours late on its scheduled docking time after having to wait off Newhaven for the tide to rise.

Yesterday's sailing from Newhaven, due to leave at 8am, was one hour, forty minutes late also because of the low tide.

A passenger said: "There were a lot of angry people demanding to know what was going on.

"Many faced long car journeys. Even when we finally docked there was a 15 minute delay before we could get off."

Steve Forrest, operations manager for Transmanche, said: "It is not a case of the ship being too big for Newhaven. We will not face the low tide problem at Newhaven again for several months.

"These are teething problems and we are sure the Dieppe will prove a popular ferry."