Commuters are facing delays and diverted services following a fault with a signalling system along a rail route.

Trains between Three Bridges and Hove have been cancelled, with services from London Victoria to Littlehampton diverted via Horsham.

Customers have been advised that services along this route will not stop at normal stations between Gatwick Airport and Littlehampton.

Those travelling from London to Hove, Portslade, Shoreham, Lancing, Worthing or West Worthing should instead take a train to Brighton and change there for a train to their destination.

Tickets are being accepted on alternative Southern, Thameslink or Gatwick Express services between London and Brighton, and Brighton and Littlehampton.

A spokesman for Southern said: “The fault has been confirmed as a track circuit failure. This means the signalling system is unable to automatically verify if the next section of track past the affected signal is clear.

“The rail network is designed so that if a signal stops working, trains will stop before they reach it.

“Whilst this issue is ongoing, train crew will stop at the affected signal and contact the signalling centre to confirm their location.

“At this point, the signaller will verbally authorise the driver to continue to the next signal. This process adds time to every train’s journey, which means services can experience short delays.”

Passengers are urged to check their journeys using the National Rail enquiries real-time journey planner online.