Commuters say they are being left "high and dry" after controversial changes to railway timetables were introduced.

Rail passengers living in Sussex villages are facing a daily nightmare some three months after the changes were introduced.

The new Southern service followed the withdrawal of the South West Trains Basingstoke to Brighton service.

It aimed to streamline and improve services from Brighton to Southampton and Portsmouth and only reduce those used by a small number of passengers.

But people travelling towards Brighton from smaller stations in the Arun district are urging Southern to reinstate the old timetable.

The Arun Valley Railway Users Association said passengers using stations at Ford, Arundel, Amberley, Pulborough, Billingshurst, and Christ's Hospital faced longer journeys.

Some have to wait up to an hourand- a-half for a connecting train, while other stations are being missed out.

The issue will be discussed at a meeting of Arun District Council's performance scrutiny committee on March 25.

Anne Hill, who lives in Bury, near Amberley, now relies on family and friends for a lift to work in Brighton after giving up on the railway service.

The journey used to take her an hour in the morning and the evening but after the changes she has to wait an hour-and-a-half for the connecting service home.

She said: "We have less trains and the connection times are terrible.

People just want the old timetable back. I've had to stop using the trains and now I rely on my husband to pick me up but that is not an option for everyone.

"They are trying to get people to Southampton quicker but not considering people in the Arun Valley.

We've been left high and dry."

A spokesman for Southern said: "Since the timetable was changed, Southern has noticed a considerable increase in the number of passengers using the service.

"Clearly, it would not be in the interest of the majority of passengers to revert back to the timetable as it was before December."

The Arun Valley Railway Users' Association is compiling evidence of the effect the timetable changes have had. For more information, visit www.avrua.org.uk.

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