SHOCKING pictures reveal the damage at Condor Ferries’ Weymouth berth which prompted the company to switch services to Poole.

Contractors for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council have started work to repair the harbour wall at the company’s berth.

The council is confident repairs will be completed by March 28 despite the damage to the quay and harbour wall.

One harbour worker, who did not wish to be named, compared the scene to an ‘earthquake’.

But Weymouth and Portland Borough Council environment and sustainability spokesman Ian Roebuck, who took the Echo on a tour of the site yesterday, moved to reassure people about the damage and said: “Don’t panic.”

Condor has re-routed all journeys to the Channel Islands from Poole until March 28 amid safety concerns about the structure of the harbour wall.

Cracks appeared in the surface of the quay and below the waterline and the surface of the quay dropped last month. It is feared that Condor may not return at all.

Before visiting the site to inspect repair works, the Echo was given pictures which show the gaping holes that have appeared in the ground at the quay.

One harbour worker said: “The harbour wall is completely collapsing, falling both towards and away from the sea. It now looks like there has been an earthquake, with cracks in the ground you can put your foot into and you can see the hollow beneath.”

Councillor Ian Roebuck said he was confident the work to fix the damaged harbour wall and quayside would be completed on time and within budget despite the damage clearly visible at the site.

He added that his message to the people of Weymouth and Portland would be: “Don’t panic.”

He added: “The date of March 28 should give us plenty of contingency to check the work and then Condor can come back.”

He added: “I would be utterly astonished if sailing doesn’t resume here by the end of March.”

The Echo exclusively got to see the work, which will involve four holes being drilled into the quay to assess the damage, before rigid foam concrete is poured into the affected area.

Once inside the void underneath the wall, the concrete will expand and harden.

Coun Roebuck said the process will take a week to ten days and once it is complete monitoring will take place to ensure it is safe.

The work is estimated to cost £50,000 – but another £50,000 has been set aside as a contingency.

Borough councillor Peter Farrell, chairman of the council’s harbour board, criticised the authority last week for not repairing the walls sooner.

He said it was ‘the most serious situation’ the port was facing in its 130-year history.

But he welcomed news of the repair work starting, saying: “The work’s being done and will be followed by work on monitoring and we will have to wait and see the position. I hope it turns out positive.”

But ex-harbourmaster Comm-ander Peter Tambling said he was not convinced of the repair work and said that sooner or later the council would have to look at the sheet piling that made up the front of the quay.

He said: “To my mind the repair work is a first aid job – it’s not a permanent fixture.

“Sooner or later they will need to do the sheet piling.”

Jim Groves, who owns Aaran guesthouse on the seafront, said: “It suggests Condor will come back otherwise they wouldn’t be bothering to do the work.

“Fingers crossed they will be back on March 28.”

A spokesman for Condor Ferries said that they would continue to sail from Poole while the work continues.