A survivor of the Paddington rail disaster has started legal action to win compensation.

Joanna McGowan was injured in the crash in which 31 people died and 500 were injured when two trains collided at Ladbroke Grove on October 5, 1999.

Ms McGowan, of Meadfield Road in Langley, near Slough in Berkshire, is seeking more than �50,000 for the injuries she suffered in the crash.

She is said to be still traumatised by the accident.

In a writ issued at the High Court in London, she accuses both Railtrack and Thames trains of negligence.

The disaster happened when a Thames train jumped a red light and ploughed head on into a London-bound Great Western express approaching Paddington station.