A ferry company has apologised after children were left “screaming” when a pornographic film was played on one of its ships from France to Sussex.
DFDS said it was “very sorry” over the incident, which happened onboard the ferry from Dieppe in France to Newhaven.
It said that an “adult film” was broadcast mistakenly on the lounge television to passengers who had been watching a Formula One grand prix, causing children onboard to be exposed to what one passenger described as “hardcore porn”.
A spokesperson said the incident took place during a delay, when the ferry was sent back to France because of a technical fault at Newhaven port.
A group of passengers asked if they could watch the grand prix on the TV in the onboard lounges, and the film played after the race.
DFDS said the crew was not aware the film was due to be broadcast, adding: “Once the crew were alerted to the content, the channel was swiftly changed.”
It said the channel had since been removed from the list of available stations on the boat, saying: “This will not happen again. We are very sorry for the understandable upset and anger that this caused.”
Speaking to the Argus newspaper in Brighton, one passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, described the incident – which happened at the end of October – as “a bit mad”.
They told the paper: “Suddenly, kids ran out of the recliner lounge area screaming. Some parents came out and they were asking the man who worked there to sort the TV out, they were saying: ‘There’s hardcore porn on the TV.’ I couldn’t see it, but it was audible.”
The passenger said a member of staff had turned off the television. They added: “It was a bit mad. I don’t know how it got on there. It was a whole mess with the ferry crossing. People were really disgruntled.”
