by Thom Morris

Hang on a minute! What’s going on?

It's been confirmed it actually takes longer to get from Ashford to St Pancras by high-speed train than advertised - one minute more.

The much trumpeted high-speed service boasted claims of only 37 minutes from the town to the nation’s capital.

But train operator Southeastern admitted this week publicity material will need to be changed from 37 minutes to 38 minutes.

Southeastern spokesman Sarah Boundy said: "You’re right. We did say 37 minutes when we were doing a lot of our pre-publicity. This was based on estimations.

"The actual timetable has the majority of trains taking 38 minutes. Everything we do now will have the current time of 38 minutes on it."

The journey used to take 83 minutes before the introduction of high-speed services.

Ashford: Closer Than You Think was one of the biggest advertising campaigns carried out to promote the town, featuring the strapline 'London in 37 minutes'.

But Ashford Borough Council said it was not concerned by the changes when asked if its publicity material would need changing.

Council spokesman Dean Spurrell said: "The answer is no, because they are average times."