RAILWAY heritage bosses in York have defended Thomas The Tank Engine after a psychologist claimed the children's favourite could leave youngsters terrified of going on a train.

More than 60,000 people visited the Day Out With Thomas event at the National Railway Museum (NRM) last month, making it the museum's most popular special attraction.

But a university lecturer has said the televised adventures of Thomas and friends featured too many crashes and could frighten its pre-school audience off trains.

Today, NRM public relations manager Camilla Harrison leapt to the side of the little engine and his steam-driven friends, saying he is a positive role model for the industry.

She said: "One of the key objectives of Thomas is to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in the story of the train. It is one of the fundamental things we are here for.

"For children, Thomas is often the first contact they have with trains and in our experience what happens at the NRM is that Thomas engages children in a positive way."

Dr Brian Young, a TV expert on how children react to programmes, said Thomas's young audience was more likely to see the programme as reality.

He said the sheer number of crashes, disasters and accidents in Thomas programmes could make children unwilling to travel by train.

A spokeswoman for ITV said the content of children's programmes was taken very seriously and was closely regulated. Programme bosses were "entirely confident" that Thomas was suitable for all children.

A spokeswoman for HIT, which manages the Thomas brand, said Thomas had featured on TV for more than 20 years and no complaints of this kind had ever been received from parents.

She said: "In fact our Day Out With Thomas events at local steam railways are one of the most popular kids events in the country - with almost half a million visitors every year."

Updated: 10:07 Wednesday, March 12, 2003