Carrying out the perfect U-turn can be tricky at the best of times , so spare a thought for this coach driver who had to complete it on a narrow river slipway . Not only did the driver have to perform the manoeuvre , he also had to do it while carrying a bus full of French tourists and under the watchful stare of passersby . The coach driver found himself stuck on slipway , with a queue of cars behind , after he tried to board a ferry in Devon only to get turned back . This is the moment that a French coach was forced to perform a U-turn on a river slipway in Dartmouth , Devon . Eyewitnesses feared that one wrong move from the driver and the bus would slid into the estuary . Unable to reverse back up the way he had come , the driver had no other option than to attempt the U-turn . Terrified Gallic customers were said to have clung onto their seats as the driver slowly shunted forward and back . Eyewitnesses feared that one wrong move and the bus would slid into the estuary . Tourists and locals enjoying the sunshine at Dartmouth gathered to watch as the coach , owned by French operator Sovetours , was turned back when it tried to board the ferry on the Kingswear side of the River Dart . A spokesman for the Dartmouth Higher Ferry company confirmed that the coach was too big to be allowed to cross . He said 'Triple-axle coaches are not permitted to use the ferry as they are usually overweight . 'Experience has shown that damage can occur to the rear of the vehicle during loading and unloading . There are clear signs in place to warn drivers . ' The ferry service between Dartmouth and Kingswear costs £4.70 for cars and 50p for foot passengers for a single journey . It clearly states on the firm 's website that they are unable to carry triple-axie coaches . After much French blue language , the driver managed to complete a U-turn on the seaweed covered , sloping slipway and head back to go the long way round . The coach driver was turned back after trying to take a ferry to cross the River Dart in Dartmouth , Devon ( file picture of River Dart in Dartmouth )
French owned Sovetours coach turned back from boarding ferry in Devon . Bus full of tourists had wanted to cross the River Dart in Dartmouth . Ferry bosses say coach was too big to be allowed to cross river . Comment: