A CRUISE ship was left stuck in Southampton for more than seven hours due to "technical issues".

P&O's Ventura was due to leave the city's docks at 4.30pm on Tuesday.

But passengers were left disappointed when the ship was unable to set sail for Amsterdam.

Today P&O has confirmed that the ship finally left port at midnight, claiming the technical issues were "quickly rectified".

One passenger told the Daily Echo that a cleaning device got stuck in a propeller, preventing the ship from departing.

City resident and passenger Clare Olsen said: "Something has wrapped around the propeller and we think it's part of a cleaning device for the ship.

"The crew have been letting us know what's happening and why we can't go anywhere.

"We're ok, we've got a bottle of bubbly in our cabin.

"If we do get kicked off at least we haven't got far to go."

A spokesperson from P&O said: "Due to a technical issue which was quickly rectified Ventura left Southampton at midnight.

"The itinerary remains as scheduled."

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