A DISTRAUGHT mother has vowed to fight on against the Ministry of Defence by teaming up with other parents whose children have died accidentally in the armed forces.

Shirley Caswell's pledge follows her case being shown with six others on the Channel 4 documentary Casualties of Peace examining non-combat deaths - which occur at the rate of almost three a week nationwide.

In 1998 her 21-year-old daughter Melanie Byrne died when an exhausted colleague crashed their truck after falling asleep at the wheel.

Miss Caswell admits she has got nowhere trying to prosecute the driver - who had slept for just three hours in the previous 40 - but she has not given up.

"I feel very guilty about it - something's happened to my only daughter and I can't do anything," she said.

"I just hope I'll be able to join forces with other families. Something has to be done - the police have to look into it."

Miss Caswell, 45, of Kidderminster's Hurcott Road, added: "I just think this is going to be a very good warning to other parents of kids who want to join up."

She was given a copy of the MoD's inquiry into the accident in 2000 - which admitted "gross negligence" - but it did not include the findings of its internal Special Investigation Branch .

"I don't know what - if any - action was taken after the accident. What they sent me was a load of rubbish."

Miss Caswell added her daughter was awaiting a knee operation and should not have been on duty.

An inquest heard the Royal Artillery gunner's death on the M4 in Berkshire was "almost inevitable" because of her driver's sleep deprivation but a verdict of accidental death was recorded.

The tragedy has changed the family's life said Miss Caswell who added she is now over-protective of her two sons.

"It's really affected my mind. Melanie has left two brothers who are now 12 and 13 who don't get any freedom. It's terrible for them. Our lives are not the same. I want somebody to say "I did this and I'm sorry"."

An MoD spokesman declined to comment on individual cases. He said: "We really do sympathise with the parents of all the soldiers but investigations have been or are being carried out for the cases shown in the programme."