Call to install seatbelts

A father whose daughter died in the Berkshire rail crash today called for seatbelts to be fitted to high-speed trains.

Peter Webster, who spent two hours at his 14-year-old daughter Emily's side as she lay dying, said: "My daughter would have been alive if she had been wearing a simple lapbelt. It's a relatively cheap measure that would save lives and prevent injuries."

Mr Webster, 49, a property developer, had taken Emily and a friend shopping in London when they were involved in the crash. He said: "As a father and having gone through this I want to do something positive to prevent this happening to other people. The Government could at least insist that high-speed trains are fitted with seatbelts."

The Health and Safety Executive reported in 2002 that seatbelts could stop many deaths in train crashes, but said that fitting them would not be "reasonably practical".