Rail commuters were today told their train to London had been delayed - because passengers weren't boarding quickly enough.

An announcement informed travellers on the South Central train that it was running late because of "boarding flow" problems.

Commuter Simon Peyton, 34, who got on at East Croydon, said: "It was appalling. We heard that the train was running late because passengers were boarding too slowly.

"The train had been delayed by the late running of another train at Three Bridges. That's why there were so many people trying to get on at East Croydon.

"This service is abysmal anyway. This particular train is always late. We were told about the delay due to the Three Bridges problem and then told our train was delayed by a further two minutes because of this boarding problem.

"No wonder there was a boarding problem - there were twice as many people as normal trying to get on."