Riverdance Flounders

Waves hit the stricken ferry Riverdance as it sits on a sandbank at Blackpool's North Shore. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Image

An operation has begun to refloat the vehicle ferry Riverdance after she was hit be a rogue wave between England and Ireland. Conditions were described as terrible.

Rescuers had to contend with a Force 10 storm, with winds gusting at over 60mph and waves up to 30ft high. A spokesman for Seatruck Ferries, which operates Riverdance, said the vessel was carrying trucks and trailers from Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland to the port of Heysham in Lancashire.

You can find more info at the BBC here and the Guardian United here.

(Ed. note: I decided not to title this post - "Stepp'n to the Bad Side")