Bath crash death driver details emerge

The driver of a tipper truck that crashed in Bath, killing a child and three adults, had recently passed a test to drive more advanced vehicles.

Philip Potter, 19, was transporting aggregate on Monday when the lorry careered down Lansdown Lane, hitting vehicles and pedestrians.

He had been licensed to drive the truck for months but recently passed a more advanced test to drive other heavy goods vehicles.

A four-year-old girl died in the crash.

Mitzi Steady and three men from Wales were all killed in Monday's tragedy.

Avon and Somerset Police have not said if officers have questioned Mr Potter since he left hospital.

Police accident investigators are still trying to establish just what caused the truck to crash. They are looking at the load it was carrying as well as any potential mechanical faults.

At the time of the crash Mitzi Steady was walking with her grandmother, who remains critically unwell in Southmead Hospital.

Phil Allen, 52, and Robert Parker, 59, of Cwmbran, and Stephen Vaughan, 34, from Swansea, also died when their car was hit by the 30-tonne truck.

There has been no public comment from Mr Potter but postings on Facebook suggest he passed his HGV test the day after his 19th birthday. Legally, the test can be taken from the age of 18.

However, it is understood he passed his LGV licence - required to operate the eight-wheeled tipper truck - some months earlier, and he has long-term experience with heavy farm vehicles.

Witnesses told the BBC that the lorry's horn was sounding repeatedly in the seconds before the crash - as if the driver was trying to warn people of the danger.

Police added that early witness accounts suggested the driver was trying to avert an accident.

As well as those who died, four others were seriously injured including Mitzi's grandmother who remains in hospital.

The wreckage of the truck, which overturned in the crash, and a badly damaged car were removed from the scene early on Tuesday.

Correction: This article has been amended to clarify that Mr Potter passed his LGV licence to operate the tipper truck several months ago, while a more recent test he undertook permitted him to drive more advanced vehicles.