"three hours behind" is correct and can be used in written English.
For example, "We set off late, and were three hours behind schedule."
We finally hit the road three hours behind schedule.
They were already three hours behind the front-runners in their class.
In three hours behind the wheel, I never fully depleted the battery.
Mr. Wilson said flights out were "two to three hours behind schedule".
They eventually arrived in Edinburgh on a separate plane approximately three hours behind schedule, she said.
Arizona is one hour behind Colorado and three hours behind the East.
After the 20-minute helicopter flight to the Australian icebreaker, we were sudenly five hours behind, on Western Australian time (GMT+8).
Home was four thousand miles away, and six hours behind; pretty soon, it would be quite reasonable, surely, to return yet again to my room and see if there were any fresh bulletins from that quarter.
Still living on LA time, he rises at 3.30pm every afternoon to Skype Kimberly and Kailey, eight hours behind, before they go to work and school, and again when they return.
All times local - New York five hours behind BST.
5) Bridgetown, Barbados is four hours behind GMT.
