RAILTRACK has begun a clearance programme to rid the region's railways of potentially dangerous debris.

But work to target materials which could be used by vandals to derail a train is not due to be completed until October.

The revelation comes in the wake of The Northern Echo's front page expose yesterday, highlighting fears over the problem. We revealed how the company had been reprimanded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) over sections of rail and sleepers left beside the East Coast Mainline near Darlington.

It took several weeks to comply with a statutory improvement notice issued by the executive, and now faces possible court action over the delay.

The HSE said that it had been in meetings with Railtrack and was considering what action to take next.

Railtrack could yet be hit with an unlimited fine, if it is found to have breached health and safety regulations relating to the railway.

The company, which has overall responsibility for the maintenance of Britain's track infrastructure, has its own guidelines on what material can be safely stored on the side of lines.

As the four-month trackside clean-up began, details emerged yesterday of yet more locations where materials had been left.

Reporters discovered old sleepers next to the line at Yarm, visible from the bridge on Aislaby Road.

And one reader said similar materials at Kirklevington, on the Yarm to Northallerton line, had been there for "two or three months". The man, a former engineer who did not want to be named, said: "Somewhere along the line there is a lack of discipline which is obviously leading to short cuts.

"When British Rail used to manage the track they would take every bit of dross left from track repairs away."

Railtrack has contracts with a number of different engineering companies to maintain track and surroundings, which then sub-contract the work to hundreds of smaller firms.

Mike Tate, a spokesman for Jarvis, which has the contract for the East Coast Mainline, said: "If there is anything untoward being found we want to know about it.

"However, it is Railtrack's track. We work for them, but they have the responsibility in the end.