The lawyer for the Dumbarton victims’ of the Glasgow bin lorry crash quizzed a collision expert about the horrific accident at today’s inquiry.

Mark Stewart QC, who represents the families of Dumbarton victims Jack Sweeney, 68, his wife Lorraine, 69, and their 18-year-old granddaughter Erin McQuade, brought up an incident in Glasgow in 2014 where a bin lorry driver took ill and untrained crew steered it through a hedge.

The lawyer stressed he did not wish to criticise crew members Matthew Telford or Henry Toal in any way.

The two crew members earlier told the inquiry they could not reach the handbrake on the out of control vehicle during the tragic crash which killed six people and injured 10 in Glasgow city centre on December 22 last year.

Mr Stewart referred collision investigation expert Mark Hill to a report in which about two per cent or road collisions are attributed to a ‘driver medical event’.

Mr Hill agreed that driver medical conditions are a ‘forseeable risk’.

Later in his evidence, Mr Hill said providing training for crew to react when a driver falls ill would be ‘very challenging indeed’.

He said training to crew in using handbrake in emergency situations is fraught with difficulties.

Cross examined by Liam Ewing, who represents Mr Toal and Mr Telford, Hill agreed that the hedge incident with the bin lorry is ‘dissimilar’ from the crash the inquiry is examining.

Mr Hill also agreed that seeing pedestrians struck would have a “gross impact” on crew's physiological ability to respond and crew members ‘probably’ had less than 3.5 seconds to react.

The next witness to take to the stand was Douglas Gellan, area manager for land and environmental services at Glasgow City Council.

Mr Gellan, chairman of the generic risk assessment group for cleansing department, said he knew both Mr Telford and Mr Toal well but not Mr Clarke Solicitor General Lesley Thomson took Mr Gellan through a generic risk assessment form and its workings Mr Gellan is discussed the composition of the risk assessment group and its expertise.

He is due to resume giving evidence tomorrow as the inquiry, before Sheriff John Beckett QC, continues.