THREE Italian company directors have appeared before a court in Rome accused of the manslaughter of a York academic who was dragged into the gears of a moving walkway at a railway station in the city.

Domenico Leti, Leonardo Casali and Luana Lepore - all directors of the OCS maintenance company - are charged with killing Sarah Marie Drummond Baldwin, who was known as Sally.

Professor Baldwin, 62, who lived in York and taught sociology at the university, was changing trains in Rome with her ex-husband Jack Baldwin when the tragedy happened.

She died after being pulled into the revolving mechanism under a walkway at Rome's Tiburtina station on October 28, 2003.

At yesterday's court appearance a hearing was scheduled for March 17 to decide what evidence can be admitted in the trial.

Professor Baldwin, 62, had stepped into a gap left by the removal of a section of the walkway for maintenance.

In October, two maintenance workers were sentenced to 20 months and 15 months in prison after being convicted of manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm.

They did not serve any time under a plea-bargain arrangement.

Prosecutors had argued that Sergio Marfut and Massimo Migotto, who were carrying out maintenance work at the time, did not take the necessary measures to prevent the public from using the walkway.

The men had originally both faced four-year jail terms in the fast track case at Rome's central criminal court.

They were also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to Vincenzo Practico, an Italian railway worker who suffered horrific leg injuries when he and a colleague tried to help the professor.

In July last year, Mr Pratico, 38, was given the Queen's Commendation for Bravery by Britain's ambassador to Italy, Sir Ivor Roberts.

Professor Baldwin lived in St John's Street, York, with her husband, Joe Callan. The couple have two daughters, Emma and Julia.

The Scottish-born professor was a semi-retired social policy expert whose groundbreaking research highlighted the plight of families with disabled children.

She worked at the University of York for 30 years and was a board member of York NHS Trust.

Four buildings housing the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences at the university, of which the professor was director, were officially renamed in her honour last year.

Updated: 10:01 Thursday, February 17, 2005