Hundreds of people heading to the Isle of Wight Festival have been held on boats in the Solent amid traffic gridlock on the island.

Mud caused by heavy rain led to parking and access problems at Seaclose Park, Newport, and prompted ferries to suspend their services because of the traffic backlog.

Three boats with about 600 people on board were being held in the Solent as ferry operator Wightlink waits for the traffic to clear to enable it to discharge passengers at Fishbourne.

A Wightlink spokeswoman said: "We have about a couple of hundred people on each boat. They are fine, and there are crew and food on board.

"We can't do anything else with them until we can get into port to unload. At the moment we are in the lap of the Gods with the Isle of Wight Festival.

"As soon as the berth is free they will be able to unload, but we just don't know when that will be. It has nothing to do with us, and it's not a problem caused by us."

The festival is being headlined by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band.