Ferry crossings between the Isle of Man and Lancashire have been disrupted by blustery conditions over the Irish Sea.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company confirmed the morning’s sailing from Douglas to Heysham Port and its afternoon return had been cancelled.

The firm said the evening and overnight sailings would depart more than two hours later than scheduled, with Thursday’s daytime crossings also facing disruption.

Winds are expected to strengthen throughout the day, with gusts of up to 50mph (80km/h) forecast for the evening.

Passengers who had been due to travel on the cancelled services were asked to contact the Steam Packet to be rebooked on to another crossing.

The government-owned ferry firm said the timings of Thursday’s daytime crossings had been pushed back by more than an hour, but a decision on whether the services would go ahead would be made by 07:30 GMT.