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

Charles Horton, chief executive of Southern's parent company Govia Thameslink Railway, faced pressure from passengers on Thursday morning at a "meet the manager" event at London Victoria station.

Passengers have faced months of delays and cancellations on Southern routes, from the South Coast to London and across the south coast.

The rail company has cut 341 journeys a day from its timetable after weeks of staff shortages, sickness and industrial action.

Commuters angry at the level of service have staged protests at a number of stations in recent weeks.

Dozens of passengers took the opportunity to meet Southern bosses at Thursday's two-hour event.

Mr Horton said: "It's always good to do these sessions.

"I've spoken to many customers myself this morning. There's been lots of questions. Lots of customers expressing their frustration and recounting some of their bad experiences.

"I've apologised, we've apologised, for the poor level of service.

"We've also talked about the future and about what we're planning to do to make things better for them."

Mr Horton claimed that "customers are always very patient and they're always very reasonable in what they say to you".

He added: "We understand this isn't just about train services, this is about people's lives and the impact when trains are delayed."

Charity worker Rona Hunnisett, 40, who commutes from Brighton to London Victoria every day, attended the event on her way to work but was left shaking her head after meeting a manager responsible for quality control.

She said that when she asked for "a definitive time" when services would improve, she only received "waffle and more evasion" in response.

"I'm sick of the constant excuses and blame," she said. "It's never their fault, it's always somebody else's fault."

Mrs Hunnisett said she felt "physically scared for the first time in 20 years of commuting" on Monday night during severe congestion at Brighton station.

"I pay them £4,000 a year for a service and I don't get it," she added.

"I don't think there is any excuse in this day and age to take that kind of money and not provide a service or a meaningful compensation package."

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, 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."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is urgently trying to put a Transport for London team in charge of Southern services until the problems are resolved.

A Department for Transport (DfT) official said on Wednesday that future rail franchises are unlikely to be as "large and complex" as the one awarded to Southern.

New Rail Minister Paul Maynard revealed that the DfT will consider brokering talks between Southern and the RMT union in a bid to resolve the industrial dispute which has contributed to the disruption.