Land Rover 'had no defect'

Experts who examined the Land Rover in the Selby rail disaster found no defect which might have made the driver lose control, a court heard today.

Driver Gary Hart, 37, claimed hearing a "bang" moments before he swerved off the M62 on to the railway line in February. Ten people died when an oncoming express was derailed and hit a coal train.

Ian Charlton, a vehicle examiner with Humberside police, told Leeds Crown Court the wreckage of the Land Rover had been closely checked and no faults which might have caused the vehicle to leave the road had been found.

Hart, a groundwork contractor-from Strubby, Lincolnshire, denies 10 charges of causing death by dangerous driving.

Mr Charlton said the trailer being towed by Hart's Land Rover, and its load of a Renault 21 estate, also showed no defects. He said the driver's window was fully wound down and the sunroof was open on its smallest setting.

The prosecution claims Hart had slept for less than one hour during the 24 hours prior to the crash, spending five hours during the night talking on the phone to a woman he met through an internet dating agency.

The trial continues.