Tributes poured in yesterday following the death of a leading academic in a freak accident while on holiday in Italy.

Professor Sally Baldwin, a 62-year-old mother-of-two, was crushed to death when an escalator collapsed at Tiburtina station in Rome.

The York University professor was among dozens of people standing on the escalator when it gave way and she was caught in the revolving cylinders underneath.

Two Italians were also severely injured in the incident, including a train driver whose legs were crushed as he attempted to save Prof Baldwin. Officials from the Italian railway network, RFI, have launched an investigation into the tragedy.

A police spokesman said the inquiry would centre on five panels which had been removed from the walkway during maintenance but which had not been replaced.

The spokesman added: "Repair work was going on at the time on the walkway, but it is too early to say whether this was the cause of the woman's death."

Scottish-born Prof Baldwin lived in St John's Street, York, and leaves a husband, Joe Callan, and two daughters.

She joined York University's department of social administration in 1973 and became director of the social policy department in 1988 - a role she left last year, although she remained within the department.

She was also a board member of the York Hospitals NHS Trust and fellow member the Reverend Keith Jukes described her a person of immense insight.

He added: "Her whole sense of professionalism, both in her work for the university and on the trust board, was an inspiration to us all.

"She was a wonderful person to be alongside. She always championed the cause of the ordinary person. She was a very caring person. We will miss her very much."

The head of the social policy department at the university, Prof Jonathan Bradshaw, said: "Sally Baldwin was a first-class researcher and a superb colleague.

"The work she did made a real difference to the lives of many people with disabilities and their carers, and she had a real influence in policy-making."

The chairman of the NHS Trust, her university colleague Prof Alan Maynard, said: " It is an appalling tragedy."