LAWYERS for families who lost relatives in the Clutha disaster have slammed delays in publishing a report into the tragedy.

The final report into the crash which claimed 10 lives will be published almost two years after the incident.

As reported in later editions of last night's Evening Times, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said "several weeks of investigation" were still required in order to complete the probe.

It is understood a draft will be issued to "interested parties", early next year.

Specialist lawyers representing injured victims and families said "the middle of 2015 is simply too long to wait".

At around 10.25pm, a year ago today, the Police Scotland helicopter crashed through the single-storey pub after both engines failed.

Irwin Mitchell Scotland are acting for 17 people, including relatives of those who died and others injured in the crash.

Partner in the firm, Jim Morris, a former RAF pilot, said: "One year on and all of our clients remain frustrated and desperate for answers regarding how this terrible tragedy happened.

"It is staggering that both engines on a modern helicopter appear to have been starved of fuel when there was fuel remaining in the fuel tank.

"It is thus crucial that the reasons for this are understood as quickly as possible to prevent a similar accident from happening again."

The AAIB statement read: "The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has continued to work closely with accredited representatives from Germany and France and advisors from the helicopter manufacturer, the engine manufacturer, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the operator, together with other specialists, to establish the causes and contributory factors that led to the accident.

"The helicopter was not fitted and not required to be fitted with crash-protected flight data or cockpit voice recorders and its systems did not provide for the continuous recording of operational parameters.

"As a result, significant work was required to extract and analyse the contents of non-volatile memory (NVM) from micro-chipped equipment known to record data.

"Several weeks are still required to complete the draft final report and it is expected that this draft will be circulated to 'interested parties', as defined by the Regulations, for comment early in 2015. The final report is expected to be published in the middle of 2015."

Elaine Russell, a partner at Irwin Mitchell Scotland, said: "The middle of 2015 is simply too long to wait for the answers that are needed."