TWO men on trial for the Bath tipper truck tragedy which killed four people last year have been found guilty of manslaughter.

Matthew Gordon, 30, and Peter Wood, 55, were found guilty of four counts of manslaughter at Bristol Crown Court today, following the deaths of four-year-old Mitzi Steady and Welsh men Robert Parker, 59, Philip Allen, 52, and Stephen Vaughan, 34, on February 9, 2015.

Driver of the lorry, Philip Potter, 20, was cleared of all charges including four counts of causing death by dangerous driving, four counts of causing death by careless driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Gordon was also cleared of the same counts.

Gordon and Wood have been remanded in custody and are expected to be sentenced on January 27.

The victims of the tragedy were struck by the heavily-loaded 32-tonne Scania truck carrying aggregate down Lansdown Lane in Upper Weston, Bath.

During the trial, the court heard that Potter was following Gordon, the owner of Wiltshire-based Grittenham Haulage, down the steep lane when the brakes on his 11-year-old truck failed.

He struck Mitzi and her grandmother Margaret Rogers as they crossed the road before hitting three parked cars and killing Mr Vaughan, from Swansea, and Mr Allen and Mr Parker, from Cwmbran, who were all sitting in a Volvo.

Witnesses saw smoke coming from Potter's lorry and smelt the brakes burning as he drove down the hill. The ABS warning light - indicating problems with the braking system - was also on.

Potter, who had only worked at the company a few days, told the court he would never had driven the lorry had he known the brakes were faulty.