Angry passengers confront Southern boss over rail disruption

Commuters have confronted the beleaguered boss of embattled operator Southern Railway at Victoria Station to vent their frustrations with the service.

Charles Horton, the CEO of Southern's parent company Govia Thameslink, faced pressure from passengers on Thursday morning at a "meet the managers event".

Passengers have faced months of disruption on Southern routes, which include lines between London and the South Coast, East and West Sussex and Surrey.

Mr Horton has come under pressure from MPs and met with new rail minister Paul Maynard to discuss the issues on Monday.

Mr Horton said passengers at Thursday's event had been "very honest" and he had apologised to many of them.

"They reflected their frustration with the service over the last few weeks," he said.

"Our customers are very honest, very reasonable and very patient."

Diana Vetesse was one of the commuters to confront Mr Horton, complaining that delays to the service had meant she once missed her son's Nativity play.

The 52-year-old, from Billingshurst, West Sussex, said: "I'm generally frustrated and I was saying there's an occasion where I did not manage to get home.

"They were very nice (at the event) and actually for me the trains have been working better but overall I think it's appalling.

"We are paying so much for tickets and it's so unreliable."