Three Italian company directors went on trial in Rome today accused of the manslaughter of a British woman who was dragged into the gears of a moving walkway at a rail station in the city.

Domenico Leti, Leonardo Casali and Luana Lepore - all directors of the OCS maintenance company - are charged with killing Sarah Marie Drummond Baldwin, 63, from York.

She died after being pulled into the revolving mechanism under a walkway of Rome's Tiburtina station on October 28, 2003.

A hearing was scheduled for March 17 to decide what evidence can be admitted in the trial.

Mrs Baldwin had stepped into a gap left by the removal of a section of the walkway for maintenance. An Italian railway worker seriously injured his leg in trying to rescue her.

Two OCS maintenance workers were convicted of manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm, and were sentenced in October to 20 months and 15 months in prison. They did not serve any time under a plea bargain arrangement.