Passengers were left bemused when a train driver “forgot” to stop at a station.

People on the train hoping to get off the 17.06 London Victoria to Brighton service at Preston Park Station were forced to stay on the train until it terminated a stop later at Brighton.

Amanda Akass, 30, from Hayward’s Heath, who was on the train, said the driver apologised over the tannoy system for “forgetting to stop” at the station.

She added: “It was quite funny, everyone was quite surprised. You often hear announcements explaining you can’t stop at a station because of another reason but not because of something like this.

“I’ve never heard anything quite like it on the tannoy.

“It was a busy train and quite a few people looked confused. Luckily I didn’t have to get off at Preston Park, but when we alighted at Brighton Station I could hear people wondering when the next train back the next way would be and how they would get back.”

The Brighton Station Twitter account gave an explanation of the driving pattern as a list of jobs the train needs to complete that day.

A Southern spokesman said the diagram is the calling pattern of the train. It tells the driver which stations he or she should call at along the route.

The spokesman said: “We would like to apologise to passengers travelling on the 17.06 Victoria to Brighton service on Tuesday, who were expecting to alight at Preston Park.

“Due to an error on the part of the driver, the train did not call at Preston Park as scheduled and continued to Brighton where passengers were advised to catch the next train north to Preston Park. This kind of error happens rarely, but when it does, we know it can be frustrating for our passengers.”

He said any incident of this kind was investigated and if anything “untoward” is found, appropriate measures will be taken.

The spokesman added: “It is understood in this case the driver made an honest mistake and no further action has been taken.”

Miss Akass tweeted about the incident and a number of people who saw the comic side of the incident responded.

Marin McDonald said there must have been “comedy value” on the platform as the train sailed through the station.

Mick Daniels said: “Everyone can make mistakes.”