The motorist accused of causing the deaths of ten people in the Selby train crash repeatedly denied falling asleep at the wheel of his Land Rover.

Gary Hart, 37, said yesterday he could remember everything about the accident as his vehicle and trailer plunged down an embankment off the M62 and on to the East Coast mainline on February 28..

Moments later it was hit by a southbound GNER express train travelling at 117mph, which then collided with a fully-laden freight train carrying 1,600 tonnes of coal.

During three hours of testimony at Leeds Crown Court, Mr Hart repeatedly denied lying to the police about how much sleep he had before his journey, saying he was still in shock when he gave his first interview to officers.

Standing in the witness box facing the jury he looked straight forward with his hands folded in front of him, watched from the public gallery by survivors of the crash and relatives of the dead men.

Dressed in a green suit and light green shirt he repeatedly denied dozing off before veering off the road.

Asked about how he felt straight after the crash he told the court: "It was a mixture of panic and deep shock. I was trying to come to terms with what had actually happened to me.

"I could not believe I had escaped unharmed from a Land Rover that had plunged 40ft down a railway embankment, and then I saw a train smash through the Land Rover.

"Where I was sitting 20 seconds before, perfectly warm and dry, suddenly wasn't there any more.''

At the start of his evidence, the jury of seven women and five men was told Mr Hart had a number of endorsements on his driving licence for speeding and a conviction for using a stolen MoT certificate and excise licence seven years ago.

The jury was also told Mr Hart had received hate mail following the accident and a death threat had been faxed to the court.

The prosecution alleges Mr Hart spent all night before the accident chatting to Kristeen Panter, a woman he had met on the Internet.

Asked by James Goss QC, prosecuting, about the five-hour-long telephone conversation, he said: "It made me feel good and alive."

He was then asked by Mr Goss if the conversation was stimulating.

"Only in effect. I was excited and feeling good. It made me buzz," he told the jury.

Ten men - six commuters and four railway staff - lost their lives in the disaster, which happened near the tiny North Yorkshire village of Great Heck.

Mr Hart, of Strubby, Lincolnshire, denies ten counts of causing death by dangerous driving