COUNCIL bin lorries have been spotted in pedestrian areas after bosses told an FAI they would not be.

A 12-tonne vehicle was reportedly seen in the city centre's pedestrian zones after 8am, despite the local authority saying only smaller caged vehicles would be used following the bin lorry tragedy.

At the 27-day Fatal Accident Inquiry earlier this year council staff said larger lorries would only be collecting rubbish in pedestrian areas between 12am-5am and 7am-8am.

Outwith these times, the local authority said a smaller truck with a cage at the back would be used.

However, at least one 12-tonne lorry was spotted after 8am on Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, emptying bins close to where a 26-tonne lorry careered out of control almost a year ago, killing six people.

The lawyer representing the families of victims Erin McQuade and her grandparents Jack and Lorraine Sweeney, said the revelations were disappointing.

Lawyer Paul Kavanagh is reported to have said: "It’s disappointing their policy has not even lasted a year and, as we get closer to Christmas once again, such vehicles are in pedestrian areas at peak times."

A council spokesman said the 12-tonne vehicle spotted in the pedestrian areas was a mini refuse collection vehicle (RCVs) which was being trialled alongside the smaller caged vehicles to cut down on the time it took to collect all the waste.

He said the decision to remove the 26-tonne RCVs from pedestrian zones during the day was not for safety reasons, but was decided after receiving feedback from the public.

After the 12-tonne vehicle was spotted after 8am, the council changed their pattern again and now say they are only using them between 7am-8am.

The caged vehicles are being used for the rest of the day, and the large 26-tonne vehicles are being used only from 12am-5am.

The spokesman said: “We initially restricted the use of regular [26-tonne] RCVs in certain areas to late night and early morning and used cage vehicles during the rest of the day.

“This change was not made for safety reasons, but took into account the response of some members of the public when encountering the larger vehicles.

“We are now trialling options that completely remove the large RCVs from the vehicle zones on pedestrian precincts during the morning.”

Erin, 18, Jack, 68, and Lorraine, 69, from Dumbarton, were killed when the out-of-control lorry mounted the pavements of Queen Street on December 22 2014.

Stephenie Tait, 29, and Jacqueline Morton, 51, from Glasgow also died along with Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh.