A CROSS Channel ferry captain has been suspended after his ship hit a breakwater in Dover Harbour on Good Friday.

Passengers and crew were injured in the incident which happened in good weather conditions at the height of the Bank Holiday rush.

Those hurt included a 21-week pregnant woman, who was among the 28 people injured.

The collision happened at 5.30pm when the 28,559-tonne Pride of Provence was heading back to dock after a journey to Calais.

There were 489 passengers and 159 crew on board when the sudden impact knocked people off their feet.

Paramedics on the P&O ferry treated the injured and five ambulances and an air ambulance took nine people to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

A hospital spokesman said they had not classed the incident as a serious one and eight were soon released. One crew member was kept in for observation until Sunday.

None of the injured were children or the elderly and there were no medical problems with the pregnant woman.

The ferry was damaged on its port side and immediately taken out of service. A cement box was fitted onto the indentation to reinforce the steel work and the Pride of Provence sailed to a shipyard in Dunkirk for an inspection.

P&O will be conducting its own inquiry into the collision and the Maritime Accident and Investigations Bureau had already started its studies into the incident at the weekend.

The suspended captain has not been named by the ferry company.