Gary Hart was sentenced to 5 years

Gary Hart, 38, of Strubby, near Louth, Lincolnshire, was jailed for five years after being convicted of causing 10 deaths by dangerous driving.

Mr Hart faced a setback in his bid to overturn the sentence when a judge refused to give him leave to appeal in June 2002.

But his application has now been taken to a full Court of Appeal hearing before three judges, who will decide on 14 April whether to grant a full appeal hearing.

Mr Hart's Land Rover and trailer plunged off the M62 motorway onto the East Coast main line on 28 February 2001, causing a collision between two trains.

Inquest delay

A southbound GNER express train collided with the car before being deflected into the path of a fully-laden northbound coal train.

Ten men, six of them commuters, died as a result of the crash at Great Heck near Selby in North Yorkshire.

Families of those killed in the disaster have been angered by Gary Hart's appeal against his conviction.

The appeal process means the inquests of victims still cannot go ahead until all the legal proceedings are complete.