Brittany Ferries on Monday sounded the alarm over Brexit, and said Brits are holding off on booking 2019 holidays until they get more clarity about future travel agreements, including whether pets can come.

The transport firm said typically at this time of year families buy trips for the following August. However, bookings are currently down by around 5%.

At peak summer times, Brittany Ferries can have 12 departures a day from the English coast, carrying as many as 2500 passengers per vessel.

The company, which operates from Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth and whose ships travel to Spain and France, said “people are waiting to hear if we get a good [Brexit] deal”.

A spokesman added: “Loyal customers have a number of questions, including whether they can take pets abroad after March 2019, whether they will need a visa and if their European health insurance cards will still be valid.”

Brittany Ferries, led by Christophe Mathieu, is concerned that a no-deal Brexit could make it more difficult for holidaymakers to take trips, and therefore make trading much tougher.

It has previously warned that if Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal, that could also impact Brittany, Normandy and the Loire, regions that have benefited directly from the links Brittany Ferries has established.

The firm, privately-owned by its founding group of French farmers, joins a chorus of worried voices. It emerged last month that the Government has drawn up a contingency plan to buy or lease a flotilla of lorry ferries to ensure supplies can reach these shores in the event of a no-deal Brexit.