A train driver has been disciplined after nearly causing a tragedy when he went through a red light.

He was on collision course with another train, but disaster was averted when the other driver stopped.

It happened three days before last Christmas, but the results of an investigation have only just been revealed.

The near miss was on the King Edward Bridge above the River Tyne and involved a train packed with commuters.

It travelled 200 yards along the track after going through a red light near Newcastle Central Station.

The Arriva Northern train damaged track when it ran through points, but was not derailed.

A report by the Rail Inspectorate stated: "The cause of the Signal Passed At Danger (Spad) was attributed to the driver reading an adjacent signal, which had been cleared for another train.

"The driver of the other train observed the incident and quickly brought his train to a halt, thereby avoiding a collision."

The driver has been disciplined and put under increased supervision, but only after Arriva Trains Northern carried out medical and competence checks on him.

It is the third time a train has gone through a red light at signal T485, beside the King Edward Bridge, in recent years.

Both the Paddington disaster in 1999 and the Southall crash in 1997 were caused by trains jumping the lights.

There have been several serious category three Spads in the North-East in recent years, where trains go more than 200 yards past signals. Experts say that when that happens there is a serious risk of a collision.

The Central Station incident was an even more serious category-four Spad.

Marion Traynor, whose son, Ged, died in the Southall disaster, in London, has demanded action from train firms to cut Spads.

Mr Traynor, 38, of Boldon, on Tyneside, died when the express he was on went through a red light, crashing into a goods train, leaving six others dead and 150 injured.

Mrs Traynor, of Jarrow, said: "There are safety measures that would stop these trains going through red signals.

"If they install these things now, what happened to my son would never happen again."

Last year, two drivers on the Tyne Valley line were made to leave after passing more than three red signals. One signal - H59 at Hexham - has been passed at danger six times in four years.

Ray Price, managing director of Arriva Trains Northern, said: "We're committed to providing safe and reliable rail services and take every Spad incident seriously.

"In this particular incident we've taken action to ensure the driver's medical fitness and competence and have increased levels of supervision. The Rail Inspectorate has indicated it is content with these actions."