We have no idea how much revenue we lost because people found our trains too uncomfortable and crowded and went

We have no idea how much revenue we lost because people found our trains too uncomfortable and crowded, and went back to using cars." Gatwick Express trains were also affected but to a lesser extentThe problem was caused by the failure of Railtrack to ensure that the curves on rails were being greased properly. He said: "Already in south London a lot of our trains are full and having four carriages instead of eight meant a lot of people couldn't get on the first train or they travelled in unsatisfactory conditions. Railtrack may be sued for more than pounds 1m after an "administrative error" resulted in lack of maintenance that caused several weeks of chaos for thousands of rail passengers in south London and the South-east. Services on Network SouthCentral, one of the 25 train operators being prepared for privatisation, were severely disrupted in April and May because of Railtrack's failure to maintain the track properly. As a result, the wheels on NSC's 250 train sets started wearing out at up to 10 times the normal rate and at one point a quarter of the trains were out of service having their wheels reground or refitted. Graham Eccles, the director of NSC, which operates trains between Victoria and south London and the south coast, said that while there were few cancellations, a lot of trains had to be run at half their normal length, causing inconvenience and delays. A 58-year-old man appeared at the same time charged with helping Mr Morss to evade police, but he could not be named because of a court order covering any future suspects facing questioning in connection with the murder..

Timothy Morss, from Leyton,east London, appeared before magistrates in Stratford on 2 June charged with Daniel's murder and was remanded in custody for four weeks Mr Tyler will appear at the same court. Brett Tyler, of no fixed address, is the second man to be charged with killing Daniel, whose body was found near Bristol in March, six months after he disappeared from his home in Beckton, east London. A 30-year-old man will appear in court in east London today charged with the murder of nine-year-old Daniel Handley. John Maunder, director of the Medical Entomology Centre in Cambridge, said the increase in humidity has also helped fleas to survive better because "a house is similar to a desert in that it never rains indoors and flea larvae are usually on the verge of water stress".The success of the cat flea appears, though, to be leading to a decline in the dog flea.. Fleas also carry tapeworms which can pass from one pet to another, she said.A major factor in the rise of the cat flea is fitted carpets, where their larvae live, and the rise in the temperature of British homes. Ms Shaw said that average room temperatures have increased from 16C to 21C over the past 15 years.Humidity within homes has also increased with draught-proof windows and poorer ventilation. Cat fleas on cats had increased from 56 per cent to 63 per cent over the same period. Susan Shaw, an immunologist at Bristol University, said the increase is highly significant because it shows both a trend for cat fleas to live on dogs and a general increase in the flea population as the blood-sucking parasite is able to survive all year round in centrally heated homes.Ms Shaw said that fleas can cause a range of allergies and skin problems in humans when animal infestations get out of control, resulting in hungry fleas biting pet owners.

A survey of dogs in the London area found that 46 per cent were infested, mostly with the cat flea, compared with less than half this number in a similar survey in 1981. Twice the number of dogs are infected with fleas compared with a decade ago, because of an increase in the number of cat fleas in homes. Most public sector settlements this year have been between 2 per cent and 2.9 per cent.The gap between the pay of men and women in private and public sectors has closed by just 7 per cent in the past 20 years, a report by the Labour Research Department has shown. Women's hourly earnings are 79 per cent of men's pay and it will take another 55 years before full equality is reached.The CBI is also to publish a pay report today showing pay awards in manufacturing and service sector firms have shown no real growth during the spring. Deals in manufacturing averaged 3.3 per cent in the three months to the end of May - the same as in the three months ending in April.

Service sector awards averaged 3.4 per cent against 3.3 per cent previously.The main constraints on pay were the inability of firms to raise prices and low profits.. "Perks have been trimmed to give organisations scope to reward excellent achievement through performance related pay."A second survey, by the pay analysts Incomes Data Services, also published today, discloses that wage rises among workers are "significantly" lower in the public sector because of the Government's pay policy. Directors performed better than the average 5 per cent increase enjoyed by managers with an average pay rise of 6.6 per cent. Managers in small firms now earn an average of pounds 28,800, which includes a bonus of pounds 1,100, while a director earns pounds 54,600 with a pounds 4,500 bonus. The institute's survey, published today, discloses that the percentage of managers with company cars fell from 60 per cent to 51 per cent and holidays were cut from six to five weeks.The number of smaller firms providing free private health insurance for their senior staff fell for the third successive year.Roger Young, director general of the IoM, said many firms were finding they must cut costs without cutting corners. Pay awards to managers exceeded the rate of inflation last year although many lost perks, including a company car.