CLUTCHING his favourite toy, young James Dunn was dwarfed by the surrounds of the Parliamentary committee room.

But when he spoke, his imposing performance commanded every attention of the listening MPs.

In a poignant address, the 11-year-old son of the freight driver Stephen Dunn, who was killed in the Selby disaster, described the devastating effects the tragedy has had on his family. And he made an emotional appeal to motorists not to drive while tired.

James said: "This was all because of one selfish man, because he never got any sleep and never stopped for a rest. And he never said sorry at the court case."

James was speaking in London to an All-Party Parliamentary Group on road safety at which the national charity Brake stepped up its campaign against tired drivers, while at the same time The Northern Echo's campaign to improve railway bridges was highlighted.

In the Selby rail disaster of February last year, a Land- Rover careered off the M62 on to the East Coast Main Line and was hit by a GNER express, which in turn collided with a coal train, killing ten people died.

Land-Rover driver Gary Hart, who fell asleep behind the wheel, was jailed for five years after being convicted of causing death by dangerous driving.

James, formerly of Brayton, Selby, said: "My dad was a kind, loving man.

"One night we kissed and said goodnight and the next thing I can remember is waking up and hearing the sirens.

"I went downstairs and switched on the television and saw my dad's engine in someone's garden."

James, who went to school thinking his father was not seriously injured - only to be taken out of class and driven home to be told the awful news - called on MPs to legislate for extra rest places on trunk roads and to reduce the price of caffeine drinks at service areas.

Structural engineering consultant Professor John Knapton, who cited The Northern Echo's campaign to address the woeful state of the region's bridges, told MPs there were far more collisions on rural road bridges that official statistics suggested.

And he drew attention to dangers at urban over-bridges, saying his students had found that of 55 bridges on the Newcastle Metro system, 19 were dangerous.

The Northern Echo also highlighted the continuing row over who should pay for repairs and the broken Government pledge to settle the matter.

Prime Minister Tony Blair gave a personal pledge to The Northern Echo that a final agreement would be ready by the autumn - but hopes were dashed when the matter was put off until next year.

Read more about the Railway bridges scandal here.