THE Tyne Tunnel is still one of the worst in Europe for driver safety, according to a study published today.

The tunnel, on the busy A19, is labelled the third worst in Britain and ranks 18th out of 25 tunnels tested across Europe.

Inspectors found it had no lay-bys or emergency lanes, was congested every day, had narrow emergency walkways, no emergency lighting for escape routes and no automatic closing of the tunnel in the event of fire.

The tunnel was built more than 40 years ago and was not designed to carry the volume of traffic that uses it every day.

It came near the bottom of the safety league table when inspectors visited in 2000 and last year.

Their latest report comes after the completion of a six-week public inquiry into the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority's £139m plans to build a second tunnel on Tyneside.

John Miller, tunnel engineer, said: "There are two key safety elements here that we can do nothing about.

"The tunnel has two-way traffic, which brings the risk of a head-on collision. The second problem is that there is no means of escape.

"We do everything we can within the constraints of the existing tunnel.

"It is only a new tunnel that will make the difference and we believe it will make all the difference."

The survey was carried out for the European ADAC motoring consortium, which includes the UK's AA Motoring Trust.

The trust's deputy director, Bert Morris, said: "UK drivers are not well served compared with those in Europe.

"The safety of drivers should be the number one consideration in the debate on the building of a second Tyne tunnel at Newcastle."

The study's safety and risk ratings were based on several factors, including width of lanes, lighting, congestion, traffic surveillance, communication, escape routes, fire systems, ventilation and crisis management.

Assessments also took into account the number of lorries using the tunnels - the more there are, the greater the risk of fire.

Other considerations were the gradient of the tunnels, which can influence the spreading of smoke; restrictions on carrying hazardous goods; and the fact that two-way traffic in a tunnel increases the risk of serious accidents.

The latest figures show an increase in the number of people hurt in accidents in the tunnel.

Last year, three people suffered serious injuries and a further 17 suffered slight injuries.

That is the highest figure for the past six years.

In 2001, there were no serious injuries and only seven people slightly injured in accidents.