The fast ferry service between Sussex and France starts again on March 30 and for the first time it will be facing competition.

The twin-hulled catamaran Diamant, which is being used by Hoverspeed to operate the cross-Channel route, was sailing into Newhaven today.

The vessel, boasting airline-style seat service, a cafe and shop, replaces the Superseacat which has run the link for the past two years and is now being transferred to Dover.

But Sussex will soon have two ferry links to the Continent.

Trans-Manche Ferries, a consortium of French local authorities, is launching an all-year conventional ferry for passengers and freight between Newhaven and Dieppe.

A contract between the two companies to run the routes is being finalised.

The French consortium, which will operate the conventional ferry, includes the Conseil General of the Seine Maritime, which is buying Newhaven Port.

A Hoverspeed spokesman said: "We can do the crossing in two hours while the conventional ferry takes four hours.

"We have built up a good market in the last two years and will still be the main tourist operator of the route. We see the two ferries as complimentary. For example, they can carry coaches, something we can't do."

A spokeswoman for the Conseil General of the Seine Maritime, the French equivalent of a council, said: "We still do not have a date yet for the first passage of our service but it could be next week."