NEW Transport Secretary Alistair Darling faced fresh calls to sort out the scandal of Britain's crumbling railway barriers last night after a near-miss at yet another road bridge.

A lorry was left teetering over the Harrogate to Leeds line yesterday, and was saved from plummeting 30ft on to the tracks below by the reinforced metal barriers.

But elsewhere on the country's train network only the flimsiest of wooden fences separate road traffic from busy railway lines. Yesterday's accident further vindicates The Northern Echo's campaign for strengthened barriers at all such crossings.

Before the latest near-miss, on a bridge just south of Pannal, North Yorkshire, there had already been 40 incidents involving vehicles crashing through barriers on to railway lines around the UK since the Great Heck tragedy in February, 2001, in which ten people lost their lives.

Only last week, Vale of York Conservative MP Anne McIntosh backed The Northern Echo's call for action to improve the safety of the nation's railway bridges, pledging to raise the issue in the Commons.

North Yorkshire County Council spokesman Tony Webster confirmed the authority would investigate the accident to establish if any improvements were needed on the A658.

"This time, we are grateful the barriers did their job,'' he said.

"If everything goes smoothly, repairs to the bridge should be completed by the end of the week.''

Although no one was hurt in yesterday's accident, Harrogate Borough Councillor Fred Willis confirmed he will be pressing North Yorkshire County Council to see if anything can be learned - a move backed by civil engineering expert and retired Newcastle University lecturer, John Knapton.

"Often, the problem is that a lot of these bridges are on roads which used to be country lanes but, over time, have been upgraded to main roads,'' he said.

"Traffic is moving faster than it used to and drivers - often lulled by stretches which have been improved - can be caught out when they are suddenly confronted by a bridge like this one.

"What many roads need is realignment and, until the Government gets a grip of the situation, it will only be luck which decides if incidents like yesterday's are minor accidents or major tragedies.''

Meanwhile, North Yorkshire County Council is still waiting for Railtrack and Northern Electric to agree on the removal of electricity poles over the East Coast mainline before work can start on repairs to a bridge at Dalton-on-Tees, dubbed the most dangerous in the region.

The authority has already committed cash to repair barriers at three other bridges - Danby Wiske, Thirsk Station and Thorpefield, near Thirsk.

Since The Northern Echo launched its campaign, Durham County Council has carried out improvements at three bridges over the East Coast mainline and has started work on a fourth.

Read more about the Railway Bridges campaign here.