Train crash victim Peter Kavanagh's parents were today coming to terms with a record £1.5 million fine meted out on rail operators.

Maureen and Peter Kavanagh's son was one of seven killed in the Southall train crash.

The promising 29-year-old lawyer of Somerset Road, Laindon, was on his way home from visiting a client in Cardiff.

He had telephoned his mother Maureen on his mobile from the train minutes before it crashed.

The train from Swansea, operated by Great Western Trains, went through two yellow signals and a red one at 125 miles per hour before careering into a freight train.

The Old Bailey hearing heard that two warning devices in the train - which would have stopped the train or prompted the driver to stop it - were not switched on and working.

It was said that driver Larry Harrison, 57, did not see the lights because he was rummaging through his holdall at the time.

GWT admitted a breach of the Health and Safety Act following the accident.

Despite the fine being the largest ever handed out to a single company for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974, many relatives of the victims said the penalty was NOT high enough.

Detective Superintendent, Graham, Satchell, of British Transport Police, said: "You have to ask how much impact will this sum have on a company with a turnover of hundreds of millions pounds?"

A public inquiry into the crash will be held in September. Last month manslaughter charges against GWT and the train driver were dropped after lengthy legal arguments.

Speaking at the time, Peter's parents said they were angry at the charges being dropped.

His mother, Maureen, is recovering from six months of chemotherapy for breast cancer, which she believes was brought about by the loss of her only son.

Her husband Peter said: "We feel as if we have been conned. We didn't want the driver locked away, we just wanted him to stand up and say why he wasn't looking where he was going."

Victim - Peter Kavanagh

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