A woman is considering rejecting a job offer in central London because she fears she cannot afford the expensive train fares.

Commuters are spending an extra £1,000 a year to get to work because of the way the train and Tube zones are split up.

The Liberal Democrats launched a campaign to pressure Transport for London (TfL) to rezone the area into Zone 6 earlier this month.

Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: "I was chatting to residents this week and met one woman who was offered a job in central London.

"She was trying to work out if she can afford to take it. Her partner already works in town and they're not sure if they can afford two train passes.

"It will have an impact on her personal finances. It's a crazy situation and she's not the only one in it."

Watford's Metropolitan Line Station is in Zone 7, Watford High Street and Bushey stations are in Zone 8 and Watford Junction Station is in Zone W.

But Epping, which is further out from London than Watford is, and sits on the Central Line even though it is technically in Essex, is in Zone 6.

The petition, which is due to be presented to TfL, the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London in September, has 5,292 signatures.

Mr Taylor said 66 per cent of people who responded to a recent survey bemoaned Watford's train services.

"People are quite rightly upset," he added. "It has to change."

The Liberal Democrats are also hoping to ask for bigger trains with more capacity.

To sign the petition, please visit www.watfordlibdems.org/watford_junction_rezone