Two passengers tried to raise concerns the night before a passenger train was derailed by defective points, an has inquest heard.

Jurors were told two people - one a rail worker - made three separate reports about "rough rides" on the northbound approach to the station at Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.

A judge preparing to hear evidence about the crash - on May 10 2002 - said one report had been "forgotten", one misinterpreted and on one occasion a passenger received no response.

And Judge Michael Findlay Baker QC said safety checks had been carried out hours before the crash - but on the southbound line.

Six passengers - Austen Kark, Emma Knights, Jonael Schickler, Alexander Ogunwusi, Chia Hsin Lin and Chia Chin Wu - and pedestrian Agnes Quinlivan died and more than 70 people were hurt in the crash.

The inquest, which began today in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, is expected to last for more than two months.