Are you the sort of person who doesn't mind waiting to be served because you enjoy the chance to have a chat?

Post Office chief executive David Mills believes most of us are.

Postal watchdogs say it can take up to 35 minutes for customers to be served, seven times the target set by Post Office bosses.

But Mr Mills does not see the extra time it takes to be served as a problem.

He said: "It is a social experience for most people.

"They actually want to meet the people in the queue."

But customers in Hove, who have faced growing queues since the closure of their main branch, were yesterday outraged by his comments.

They have been forced to join lines snaking out on to the pavement at the nearest sub-post office in Blatchington Road since the Church Road office closed in May.

Kelly Blaskett, 19, who was queueing at Blatchington Road with 18-month-old son Charlie, said: "We come down here twice a week to collect my income support and it is horrible.

"It is always busy and it is very hot inside, which is upsetting for Charlie.

"I don't speak to anyone else in the queue unless they speak to me. I sometimes put off coming here because the queues can be so bad and I am thinking of changing branches."

Lauren Gravett, 19, and her 18-month-old daughter Daizy are also regulars in the queue at Blatchington Road.

She said: "You have got to queue wherever you go these days.

"It is something you have to put up with.

"Some of the older people do say a few words to each other but most people just stand and wait their turn."

Ann de Souza, 61, of Kingsway Court, Queen's Gardens, Hove, said: "It is scandalous they were allowed to shut the main office in Church Road in the first place.

"People are queueing out on to the pavement on Mondays and Thursdays, the two busiest days.

"Yes, people do talk to each other, but it is usually only to moan about the length of the queue and how long it takes to get served."

The main Church Road office shut after postmistress Mary Hodgson retired because she could not afford to meet a rent increase.

The Post Office has also launched a national cost-cutting programme which will lead to the closure of 3,000 branches.

Kay Dixon, of watchdog Postwatch, reacted angrily to Mr Mills likening the queues to a social club.

She said: "This is a totally unacceptable attitude. People want to meet other people at the Post Office but they certainly do not want to do it standing in a queue for more than half an hour.

"Because of the closure programme people are going to other post offices. Rather than going to a different sub-post office they are going to a main one.

"These are, by and large, in high streets and there are horrendous queues."

A Post Office spokesman said Mr Mills' claims were made about rural and small community post offices in particular.

He said: "We take the issue of queueing very seriously and we are making many improvements."