A HEARING has begun into the Glasgow bin lorry disaster which claimed the lives of six people.

Three people from Dumbarton – student Erin McQuade, 18, and her grandparents Jack Sweeney, 68, and Lorraine Sweeney, 69 – were among six people who died after they were struck by a bin lorry with Harry Clarke at the wheel in Glasgow city centre on December 22, 2014.

Stephenie Tait, 29, and Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow; and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, also died in the crash.

Glasgow City Council is suing First Bus, the former employers of Mr Clarke, over the job reference the firm provided.

A 2015 inquiry into the tragedy heard it took just 19 seconds to unfold.

A further 15 people were injured when the Glasgow City Council truck veered out of control.

It travelled along the pavement in Queen Street before crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel in George Square.

Mr Clarke lost consciousness at the wheel of a bin lorry in the city centre.

At a Court of Session hearing in Edinburgh on Tuesday, Roddy Dunlop QC, representing First Bus, and Andrew Smith QC, representing the local authority, took witness statements from medical professionals linked to Mr Clarke and his former employers.

The hearing heard Mr Clarke's GP, Dr Gerard McKaig, confirm that he had been misled on Mr Clarke's medical history prior to the crash.

Mr Clarke told his GP that he fainted in a warm canteen building in April 2010, but it later transpired that he had lost consciousness behind the wheel of a stationary bus, the court was told.

In a witness statement, Dr McKaig said had he known about Mr Clarke fainting behind the wheel of a bus, he would have "warranted a much fuller investigation" into his health at the time.

Witness statements were also given by the former clinical lead for Bupa's occupational health services in Scotland, Dr Peter Warnock.

Dr Warnock told the hearing had he been made aware of Mr Clarke's loss of consciousness behind the wheel in 2010, he would have deemed him "unfit for work" until a health investigation was carried out to the DVLA's satisfaction.

The hearing continued on Tuesday afternoon.