The mother of Southall rail crash victim Peter Kavanagh yesterday felt she had been "punched in the stomach" at the tragic news of the Paddington rail crash.

Maureen Kavanagh, of Somerset Road, Laindon, has just marked the second anniversary of her son's death in the first Great Western train crash.

Yesterday's accident was on the same stretch of line as the Southall crash which killed the 29-year-old and seven others in September 1997. It also left 170 injured.

Mrs Kavanagh has called for the Government to step in and change procedures to make sure this can never happen again.

She said: "A dear friend of mine called this morning and told me to turn on the television. I feel like I have been punched in the stomach. It really brings it all home. My husband is very upset at work.

"The only time this sort of thing really affects you is when you have been through it.

"This is not just news to my family. We have been through the torment of seeing the horrific pictures on telly and not knowing if our son was alive or dead.

"I am not crying for my son today. I am crying for all those people desperately trying to find out if their loved one is injured or even dead.

"I have been sitting listening to evidence given in the inquiry for the Southall crash.

"We have been told by Great Western that changes have been made to make sure there could not be a repeat. Right in the middle of that inquiry it has gone and happened again.

"I hope people do not have to wait two years like I have for an inquiry.

"This has actually happened on the same stretch of the same line and with the same company to boot."

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Carnage - the charred remains of the trains that collided near Paddington yesterday morning

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.