Glasgow bin lorry tragedy 10 years on: ‘It was one of the city’s darkest days’

The vehicle mounted a pavement and killed six people as well as injuring 15 others in Queen Street before crashing into the Millennium Hotel in George Square. The horrific scenes unfolded on an afternoon when the city was full of Christmas spirit and just yards from families shopping for the festive period. Danny Lawson/PA Wire. Use restricted under contract. (Image: Danny Lawson) Dumbarton couple Jack and Lorraine Sweeney, 68 and 69, and their 18-year-old granddaughter Erin McQuade, along with Stephenie Tait, 28, Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow, and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, all lost their lives. Chris Mitchell, GMB's cleansing convener, says he remembers the tragedy like it was yesterday.

He added: "From a personal point of view it was one of, if not the darkest day I have ever experienced. I was on my way to a meeting and heard the news breaking and made my way back into the city centre. Chris Mitchell (Image: Supplied)"I'll never forget the feeling I had driving over one of the bridges back into Glasgow.

It was a horrible day and something that scarred Glasgow forever. "I've been here 33 years and that was the worst period of my career. Even now it feels raw, despite a decade having passed."

Irene Wilson was shopping in nearby Queen Street and was cutting through George Square to meet a friend when tragedy struck. Ten years later she says what she witnessed still haunts her. A policeman looks at flowers close to the scene in George Square. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire.

Use restricted under contract. (Image: PA)Irene, 52, said: "I saw the bin lorry mount the kerb out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see what was happening and remember realising something was wrong when it just kept going. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"The screams, the people lying on the ground, the sickening noise as the lorry hit the hotel, all of it seems like yesterday. It will never leave me or anyone else who was there." Tributes were laid near the scene. Danny Lawson/PA Wire.

Use restricted under contract. (Image: PA)In 2015, a Fatal Accident Inquiry found Clarke had repeatedly lied about a history of blackouts. It decided that he had deliberately misled doctors over his medical history and said that eight reasonable precautions, all related to his medical past, could have prevented the crash. The inquiry was told Clarke had a history of dizziness and fainting going back 40 years.

It found he had misled three doctors about an earlier episode when he blacked out while he was a bus driver in Glasgow in 2010, while he also concealed information when he applied to join Glasgow City Council as a driver and a year later when he applied for promotion. Bin lorry driver Harry Clarke. (Image: Glasgow Times)Despite all of this, the Crown Office made the decision not to prosecute him, prompting the families to launch a private prosecution, which was rejected by judges. Clarke later wrote a letter saying that he was "sorry".

It read: "I understand that the impact of this event on me is irrelevant when compared to the loss that the families of the victims have suffered. "I wish to unreservedly apologise for my role in this tragic event." Danny Lawson/PA Wire.

Use restricted under contract. (Image: PA) An out of court settlement of GBP800,000 was reached between Glasgow City Council and the victims' families.