Rail users from Freshford and Limpley Stoke have blasted Railtrack after the company failed to mend a dangerous station platform.

Railtrack's community relations representative John Wood was met with a barrage of complaints at a meeting hosted by West Wiltshire Rail Users and attended by 120 rail passengers, earlier this month.

The gap between the platform at Freshford station and train steps is described by Liberal Democrat councillor Gitte Dawson as twice the width considered safe.

Cllr Dawson said: "It is mostly people from Fresh-ford and Limpley Stoke who are affected."

She criticised Railtrack for not attending to the longstanding problem. She said: "It's taken eight years to get Railtrack to commit to their work here.

"The company promised in August 1999 that work would be done by January 2000. £45,500 had been allocated for this project and Rail-track even asked Bath and North East Somerset council to put in £12,000 for further station enhancements."

Injuries have been reported by Freshford residents using the station platform.

Cllr Dawson said: "Elderly people will not use the platform. I know of a couple of ladies who go to the station with a stool to help their friend get off the train.

"I know of people who have put their backs out using the platform."

She said the problem has existed since Railtrack banked the tracks a few years ago, which she says caused the gap to increase.

The banking was carried out to allow faster trains to travel through the station, she said.

Railtrack spokesman Joanne Couzins said the Freshford platform was part of a national problem being addressed by the company.

She said: "This is an issue we have to address, a national issue. There are quite a few stations across the country which need attention."

She said that Railtrack is committed to resolving the problem, but could not confirm when work will take place.

Cllr Dawson was disappointed by the response of the independent rail safety body Her Majesty's Rail Inspectorate to her request to push Railtrack to improve the platform.

She said: "HMRI have been annoyingly unhelpful."

HMRI spokesman Liz Justice said that the organisation's powers to encourage rail companies to deal with platform improvements did not extend to older locations.

She said: "If nothing has worsened the state of the platform since the relevant laws came in, we cannot apply those laws.

"Freshford's platform must have existed in this way for years and has not been made worse recently."

Miss Justice pointed to the changing design of trains as the source of platform problems. She said: "Platforms were built for old trains. The platform at Freshford needs to be levelled."