The man, who has not been identified, was left red-faced after reportedly being forced to spend the night in his car after blocking the pedestrian path to a pier in Dunquin, on Ireland's south-west coast.

The Blasket Island Ferry had to cancel its morning ferry services when the car, which the man had reportedly hoped to camp in at the pier, became lodged between narrow walls.

"The unnamed man drove his car down the twisty, steep and narrow walkway used by ferry passengers making their way from Dunquin to the Blasket Islands off Co Kerry," Irish news site, The Independent reported.

"He was not freed until some of the staff from Blasket Islands Ferry took the keys off him, opened the boot and helped him to crawl out at about 8.30am the following morning."

Sibeal Ni Lubhaing, of the ferry company, told The Independent the man wanted to climb out his car window, but faced a sheer drop either side.

"He had gone two thirds of the way down the pathway. It's amazing that he got that far," she said.

"He had great dreams of camping out beside the pier but it all went horribly wrong - he's world famous now at this stage.

"He was terribly embarrassed about the whole thing."

The clutch on the car was reportedly burnt out from the driver's desperate attempts to reverse out of the awkward situation.

The Independent said  the spot was notorious for drivers getting stuck after edging downhill only to find the pedestrian route too narrow.

The man's vehicle had to be removed by a bobcat loader on Wednesday.

In the meantime, several ferries scheduled to depart the pier had to be cancelled, leaving hundreds of tourists and visitors stranded.