A man who was on the tram when it overturned at around 6.04am said the vehicle seemed to speed up while the driver appeared to be asleep.

Martin Harris, who was on his way to work, called his mother Jane after the crash to tell her a body was lying on top of him.

He is now in hospital with neck, back and head injuries.

Jane Harris said: "My son was on the tram I had spoke to him for a few seconds and he said that the tram driver was going really fast it looked like the driver had fallen asleep, the next thing he new the tram had derailed and gone over."

Mrs Harris had an anxious wait to find out where her son had been taken. She is going to to visit Martin later today and expects him to be kept in hospital for treatment.

Mrs Harris added: "He was on the tram, the tram was going really fast, the tram went over, my son had a dead body on him.

"He was taken to hospital with four broken ribs, damaged back and neck, and a bad head.

"I phoned the hospital to see if he was there gave my number and they said someone would call me back in a hour, nobody did, so I called back again and got told that a police officer would call back to let me know if he was there.

"My other son was waiting for about thee-and-a half hours just for them to say he was in hospital. "Martin has to stay in hospital for tests."