A rail boss jailed for the manslaughter of four track workers killed by a runaway trailer faces fresh criticism for his attitude towards safety.

The Office for the Traffic Commissioner has ruled that Mark Connolly falls "woefully short" of the standards required to operate heavy goods vehicles.

The 55-year-old applied for an operator's licence but, after a public inquiry, the industry regulator has ruled he is not fit to hold one.

Connolly was jailed after he was convicted of four manslaughter charges and linked health safety offences over the 2004 Tebay tragedy.

The traffic commissioner's hearing, held in Welshpool, heard Connolly planned to operate vehicles from Greenfield Industrial Estate in Holywell.

And, in a written decision, The Traffic Commissioner for Wales, Nick Jones, said: "It is clear that the convictions resulting in four separate seven-year prison sentences for manslaughter arose from his business that included HGV transport.

"Mark Connolly’s approach to a highly dangerous safety critical environment demonstrated the grossest of negligence."

The regulator added that Connolly’s evidence at the hearing had given an indication of his approach to road safety.

During the inquiry the Traffic Commissioner also heard evidence from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

A traffic examiner reported that a vehicle being driven by Connolly was stopped on the A4087 Caernarfon at Bangor on May 28 last year 2016. The vehicle was not displaying a valid operator’s licence.

Prior to being convicted for the Tebay deaths, Connolly, of Rhyll, had held an operator’s licence to cover his work involving HGVs so was aware of operator licensing requirements.

In his written decision, Mr Jones noted that the convictions were not spent and therefore affected his fitness to hold an operator’s licence.