THE driver of a 32-tonne truck which killed four people when it crashed after its brakes failed has told a court he would never have got behind the wheel if he had known the lorry was dangerous.

Four-year-old Mitzi Steady, Stephen Vaughan, 34, Robert Parker, 59, and Philip Allen, 52, died when they were hit by Phillip Potter's heavily-loaded Scania truck as it careered down a steep hill.

Potter, 20, his boss Matthew Gordon, 30, both from Dauntsey, and mechanic Peter Wood, 55, of Brinkworth, face 14 charges in connection with the deaths on Lansdown Lane, Upper Weston, Bath, on February 9 last year. 

Bristol Crown Court heard that Potter was following Gordon, the owner of 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.

Potter, who had only worked at the company for a few days, told the court: "I don't know how I walked out of there.

"I looked back up the road and it was absolute carnage. At that point I was in so much shock.

"I felt completely numb, just horrible."

Prosecutors allege that tachograph records show Potter and Gordon had not taken mandatory breaks in the hours before the collision and both were speeding as they headed towards Lansdown Lane, which they were also prohibited from driving down.

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 insisted he would never had driven the lorry had he known the brakes were faulty.

"I would have walked the other way. I didn't know there was anything wrong with the lorry," he said.

He said he had previously told Gordon, who is known as Billy, about the ABS warning light and was told by him it was being fixed.

"I could have kept on at Billy more but I didn't know if that would have helped.

"He told me not to worry about it and carry on driving," he said.

Describing the brakes failing, Potter said: "I tried the handbrake. I put it on and nothing.

"I tried putting the lorry into third gear to try and get the engine to slow it down.

"I was really scared because I never had anything like this happen to me before.

"I blasted the horn. It was the only thing I could think of to warn people that I couldn't stop.

"Somewhere in the back of my head I believed I was going to stop somehow.

"I am dead. I thought this was the end. I didn't know what was going to happen.

"My hands are on the steering wheel. I locked my arms and pushed myself back into the chair."

Potter said he saw a bus and was desperate to avoid a collision.

"I didn't know whether it was full of passengers or empty," he said.

"Through the windows of the bus I saw a little girl running out in front of the bus.

"I tried to swerve to miss her and at the same time I hit the hit the traffic light head on.

"I saw a lady running after her, trying to grab hold of her.

"I didn't know (I had hit her), I just had a feeling that I had.

"I didn't see an impact. I went over to the left side of the road.

"It happened so fast. It just happened and the next thing I know I was up the wall."

He told jurors that a few minutes later Gordon appeared.

"He grabbed hold of me with both hands and said 'Don't tell the police about the ABS light'.

"At that point he walked off. I was shaking like mad."

He learned later that evening that people had died.

"It was like I shut down. It was the worst time of my life. I wouldn't wish it on anyone," he said.

"The whole last two years of my life have been horrible."

Potter denies causing the deaths of Mitzi, Mr Parker, Mr Allen and Mr Vaughan by dangerous driving and by careless driving.

The 20-year-old is also charged with causing serious injuries to Karla Brennan and Mrs Rogers by dangerous driving.

Gordon denies the manslaughter of Mitzi, Mr Parker, Mr Allen and Mr Vaughan by failing to ensure that the brakes of the truck were in a safe condition.

The 30-year-old is also charged with causing their deaths by dangerous driving and by careless driving, and causing serious injuries to Mrs Brennan and Mrs Rogers by dangerous driving.

Wood is accused of the manslaughter of Mitzi, Mr Parker, Mr Allen and Mr Vaughan by failing to ensure that the brakes of the truck were in a safe condition. He denies the charges.