Ferry firm DFDS says no decision has been reached about the fate of a freight link between Kent and the continent - despite reports in French media claiming it has been scrapped.

The shipping company paused its services for unaccompanied lorry trailers between Sheerness and Calais earlier this month, citing unnamed "operational difficulties" as the reason for the suspension of the sailings.

Reports stating the route has now been axed permanently have since emerged across the Channel, but a spokesman for the firm - which also operates ferries from Dover to Dunkirk and Calais - has dismissed those stories as premature.

They attribute the coverage to a press release sent in error by a communications firm representing the business in the French market.

"The current situation is that the Sheerness route remains suspended," a DFDS spokesman said.

"DFDS is still in talks with partners involved in operating the service. No decision has been made about the future of the route, as this is dependent upon whether a solution can be found.

"Unfortunately, the French coverage has come about because a press release prepared while those talks continue was mistakenly sent out to French media."

The daily service between the Sheppey port and France was launched with a fanfare in July. The ship operating on the frieght-only route, Maxine, can carry up to 165 unaccompanied trailers.

They are dropped off on one side of the English Channel, loaded onto the ferry, and then unloaded at the other side by a different driver.

The final crossing to date took place on January 14.