Thousands of "danger spots" on the rail network are already being reviewed after a safety report commissioned in the wake of the Selby train crash.

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) recommended that 10,000 locations where railways and roads cross, or run close to each other, be looked at to ensure they are safe.

Any work required at potential danger sites, including new road markings or new safety barriers, should be completed within two years.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott asked the HSC to investigate the problems of vehicles obstructing railway lines following the Selby crash in North Yorkshire in February 2001.

Gary Hart was convicted of dangerous driving

Ten people were killed when a Land Rover came off the M62 and ended up on the East Coast Main Line at Great Heck near Selby.

Driver Gary Hart, 37, of Strubby, Lincolnshire, was jailed for five years after being convicted of causing death by dangerous driving.

The HSC report said that the Selby crash was a freak accident, only likely "once every 300 to 400 years".

Another report by the Highways Agency found there were "no serious shortcomings" in the existing safety barriers on major roads.

The government is expecting a report on the progress of the recommendations of these two reports by July 25.

Between 1967 and February 2001, 17 people travelling by road and 37 people travelling by train were killed in rail collisions.