RELATIVES of the victims of the Selby rail crash have criticised the legal system after learning that the man responsible will be freed early from prison.

Gary Hart, 40, will be released next summer after serving half of his jail sentence.

Hart, from Strubby, in Lincolnshire, was jailed for five years in January 2002, after he was found guilty of causing the deaths of ten people by dangerous driving.

His Land Rover plunged off the M62 in North Yorkshire, in February 2001, and landed on the East Coast Main Line. The vehicle had plunged into the path of a GNER passenger train, which careered into a fully-laden coal train.

It was revealed in court that the incident happened because Hart lost control of his vehicle having fallen asleep at the wheel.

Yesterday, the Home Office confirmed that Hart would be released after serving two-and-a-half years of his sentence.

A spokesperson said: "Someone sentenced to more than four years can apply for parole at the half-way point.

''The parole board then makes reports and decides whether the offender is suitable for release."

Relatives of the victims expressed anger after learning of the news in a letter from the Probation Service.

Margitta Needham, from Pocklington, East Yorkshire, whose husband Barry, 40, died in the crash, said: ''This has devastated me. Hart received a light sentence and went to an open prison. Now he's being freed. It's a disgrace."

Judith Cairncross, whose brother, Raymond Robinson, from Whitley Bay, Tyneside, was also killed, said she was distressed that Hart would be released early.

She said: ''Gary Hart has devastated our lives. To know that he is going to be out and about is heartbreaking. It brings back all our memories.''

Hart, 40, was convicted at Leeds Crown Court in December 2001 after a 12-day trial. He has since failed in three appeal bids against his conviction and sentence.