Hythe Pier will be restored to use after the owner of a dredger that smashed through the structure agreed to pay a significant sum to repair it.

The news means the future of the Hythe to Southampton ferry service that runs from the pier is safe.

There had been doubts whether enough money would be found to meet the estimated £300,000 repair bill, which the ferry operators were facing.

Under an ancient maritime law, the insurers of the dredger Donald Redford, which smashed into the pier on November 1, were only liable to pay £167,000.

The ferry, owned by White Horse Ferries, has been running from the Hythe Marina pontoon and it had been told it could carry on running until the end of the year, when the pontoon and the adjoining marina lock gate are due for routine maintenance.

Frantic negotiations have been going on between White Horse and the dredger's owner Northwood (Fareham) Limited.

When those discussions came to their successful conclusion, White Horse director Peter Lay said: "This is a great relief.

"The frustrating thing for us was that the law limited the financial liability of the Donald Redford and left us seriously out of pocket.

"Thankfully, the owners of the Donald Redford have provided a significant additional sum of money from their own resources to help us out. The combined sum of money is sufficient to fully fund the repairs to Hythe Pier.

"We have the tall order of doing this before the end of the year, so the race against time is now on."

Mr Lay declined to say exactly how much additional money was being made available by Northwood (Fareham), but he said the

initial work would involve providing a safe footway for passengers along the pier, with the possibility of a newly-positioned station for the pier's historic train.

The work will involve pile-driving to replace the damaged piles, adding new lattice beams, tie beams to hold the structure together, decking beams, planking and handrails.

"We will essentially be putting it back as it was," he said, adding that the owners of the Donald Redford were fully insured against all legal liabilities.