Rail firm Southeastern has paid out a staggering £2.2m in compensation to disgruntled passengers caught up in delayed trains.

Figures out today reveal the train operator paid out the sum between 2015/2016 as part of the Delay Repay scheme which offers cash to passengers forced to wait for more than half an hour for delayed or cancelled trains.

That puts it in the UK's top five for payouts in the most recent period - but nowhere near Virgin Trains West Coast, which was forced to hand over more than £13m.

The figure is up 68% on 2014/2015, when the sum given to customers was £1.35m.

Strike-hit Southern, meanwhile, paid out just over £1 million, but the chart said the figures only cover the period up to July 25 last year.

In total, the UK's train operators forked out a budget-busting £45m in compensation.

A Southeastern spokesman said: "We carry more than 300,000 people on 2,000 train services daily, and we are always very keen to ensure that our passengers apply for the compensation they are entitled to if their journey is significantly delayed.

“We pay compensation for delays to journeys of 30 minutes or more, whatever the reason.

"If this does occur we actively push Delay Repay compensation on our website, via social media, through the press, by making announcements on trains and through displaying posters and handing out leaflets at stations.

“Recently, we also revamped the way we pay Delay Repay to make it easier for passengers to receive compensation, including via bank transfer, cashable vouchers, PayPal, e-voucher, cheque or via credit or debit cards.

"And if passengers are severely delayed, such as when the Dover sea wall partially collapsed, we will look at the issue and can offer enhanced compensation over and above the Delay Repay scheme.”