The man accused of causing the deaths of 10 people in the Selby train crash, including Trowbridge-born train driver Stephen Dunn, told police he had not fallen asleep at the wheel prior to his Land Rover plunging on to the East Coast mainline, a court heard.

Gary Hart told officers he knew the symptoms of dozing off at the wheel and would have pulled over if he had felt tired.

Leeds Crown Court heard extracts of an interview Hart made to officers following the crash on February 28.

Asked if he had fallen asleep, Hart replied: "No, I wasn't asleep." He was then asked if he had been dozing.

"I was alive, I was fully aware of what was happening," he said.

Hart told officers he had not given much thought to the amount of sleep he had had the night before the accident, but maintained he did not fall asleep at the wheel.

He said: "I know the symptoms. When I get tired I pull over. I wasn't tired."

Hart was asked if he had had things on his mind. He said he was thinking about his new girlfriend Kristeen Panter and his planned meeting with her that evening, but he told officers: "She wasn't playing on my mind. I was aware of everything going on around me." He said his lifestyle "dictates I can go 36 hours no problem".

The jury of seven women and five men has heard how Hart's Land Rover and trailer left the M62 motorway near the North Yorkshire village of Great Heck and plunged down the embankment on to the East Coast mainline.

Moments later, it was hit by a southbound GNER express train travelling at 117mph, which then collided with a fully-laden coal train carrying 1,600 tonnes of coal. Ten people lost their lives in the disaster.

Hart, 37, of Strubby, Lincolnshire, denies 10 counts of causing death by dangerous driving.