THE man who caused the deaths of ten people in the Selby rail disaster will be released from prison next month, the Evening Press can exclusively reveal today.

Gary Hart, 38, has served half of the five-year sentence he received in January, 2001, after being convicted of ten counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

He is expected to return to the Lincolnshire area on his release and will remain on licence and under supervision until October, 2005.

Margitta Needham, from Pocklington, whose husband Barry was killed in the crash, said she was "speechless" at the news.

She said: "He killed ten people and injured 70. If we take all of those people into account then you have to ask, what kind of sentence has he served?

"There was an illusion that there might be justice, but the reality was far from that. The victims were never taken into account and there is no evidence that our views were considered.

"There was nothing there for the victims. We were just told of the rights of the criminal."

A Probation Service letter sent to relatives of those involved in the tragedy said Hart, of Strubby, Lincs, will now be supervised in the community.

Ten people died in February 2001 when a London GNER express collided with Hart's Land Rover after it plunged off the M62 at Great Heck. The passenger train then collided with an oncoming coal train.

Carole Whittingham, who runs Support and Care After Death and Injury, a network for people affected by road traffic tragedies, said the decision was "unacceptable".

Updated: 14:55 Wednesday, June 16, 2004