THE Northern Echo's acclaimed campaign to end the scandal of the region's crumbling railway bridges looks set to be raised in the House of Commons.

Senior MP Anne McIntosh, who sits on the influential transport select committee, has agreed to raise the issue of who pays for the repair of the potentially lethal bridge barriers with embattled Transport Secretary Stephen Byers.

And the news came as it emerged two further incidents had occurred in the past three months in which vehicles had crashed through road-over-rail bridge barriers around the region.

Safety campaigners have long condemned the lack of guidelines over who is responsible for the repair of barriers.

Now, North Yorkshire County Council - increasingly frustrated with the delays in improving deteriorating structures - is considering a call for the issue to be raised at the highest level.

Since the Selby rail disaster in February 2001, more than 40 vehicles have crashed through barriers designed to shield them from the tracks, and Railtrack's regional office in York confirmed yesterday that another two incidents have been reported since February.

Yesterday, Vale of York MP Miss McIntosh indicated she would be prepared to demand answers from the Government.

"It is a grey area which leads to a large amount of confusion, and if a driver involved in such an accident is not insured, there may be serious implications," said Miss McIntosh, whose constituency includes at least seven danger spots.

"I would be happy to raise it on their behalf in the Commons," she added.

Officials in North Yorkshire, where 33 bridges are thought to be in need of repair, said they may approach Miss McIntosh if the Department of Transport fails to sort out the funding mess which is holding up vital work.

The council agreed last year to spend £100,000 on four priority sites and has identified four others as part of a major risk assessment study - although the bill is now thought to have risen to more than £200,000.

Brian Jones, of the environmental services department, said: "We will look at where our risk assessment is on the rest of the bridges and then find out where the Department of Transport working party is at with attributing funding.

"If there is nothing doing, we can may be give her (Miss McIntosh) all the information. It could be very useful."

* North Yorkshire County Council is urging Northern Electric and Railtrack to resolve a dispute over how to remove electricity poles at the railway bridge at Dalton-on-Tees, near Darlington. The authority is hoping to name its contractor for repair work there by the end of the week.

Read more about the railway bridges campaign here.