THE families of two students who were killed by a driver with a history of blackouts have made a formal complaint to the Crown Office over the way their case was dealt with.

Friends Laura Stewart, 20, and Mhairi Convy, 18, were hit by driver William Payne when he passed out at the wheel of his Range Rover in North Hanover Street, Glasgow, in December 2010.

He had suffered six previous blackouts and failed to notify the DVLA about them. However the Crown Office revealed earlier this year that they will not prosecute the driver.

The reason is identical to the one given in their decision not to prosecute Harry Clarke, the driver of a bin lorry that crashed in nearby George Square killing six people in five years later.

The families, who have called for Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland to resign in light of both cases, have filed an “extensive complaint” detailing their unhappiness with the delay in reaching a decision in their case, the way they were treated by the Crown and how a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the girls’ deaths, which took place last year, was conducted.

Catherine Cairney, the aunt of Miss Stewart, speaking on behalf on both families, said the Crown Office was no longer “fit for purpose” and believes lives could have been saved had they taken the appropriate action in their case.

She said: “Our girls were killed in 2010, when the driver of the bin lorry was applying for his job with the council.

“What we feel is that if the Crown had done the job it should have, surely that would have sent a warning to other drivers they can’t lie and get away with it and would make them think twice about doing it. We firmly believe that could have saved lives.”

Mr Payne, who was 50 at the time Laura and Mhairi were killed, was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving while uninsured, but the charges against him were dropped the following year.

The FAI in the case took place four years later in 2014, but the Crown had still failed to reach a final decision on prosecution. The result of this was that the driver refused to answer any questions in fear of incriminating himself, only for the Crown to decide in March this year he should not face proceedings. The Stewart and Convy families claim this has left them with no answers and no justice.

Miss Cairney revealed she and her sister, who is Laura’s mother, plan to attend the bin lorry FAI when Mr Clarke gives his evidence. She said: “We were just a normal family waiting for justice, thinking people know what they’re doing, and we’ve been left with nothing.

“We didn’t say anything at the fatal accident inquiry because we thought ‘surely, somebody, somewhere must know that this isn’t right’ and we were so badly let down.

“Now four and half years later, after all that we’ve been through, to watch these families now having to go through the same thing is heartbreaking.”

In similar circumstances to the bin lorry case, which yesterday heard that Mr Clarke tried to get his HGV licence back after the December 22 incident, Mr Payne cannot be prosecuted because the Crown has said he will not face proceedings.

Officials have agreed to undertake a review of the 2010 case, looking at why the decisions were made, but it will not change the outcome.

The families’ complaint is also being investigated by the Crown Office and will be passed to the Solicitor General Lesley Thomson if they do not receive a satisfactory answer.

Miss Cairney said they feel they were treated badly by the Crown, adding they often felt belittled. She said: “The Crown Office treated us like ‘you’re just a wee family, you don’t understand this, we’re the ones who understand’.

“It was almost like ‘just shut up and go away, let us do our job’, but they seemed to forget that that job was investigating the deaths of our children.”

The relatives also have concerns over the Crown’s decision not to prosecute Mr Payne for less serious charges such as making a false declaration to the DVLA.

With prosecutors in the bin lorry inquiry looking at the possibility of prosecuting Mr Clarke for “common law fraud” for also lying to the Government body, they say it has raised questions over why this was not pursued in their case.

This was backed by the lawyer representing the Stewart family, Colin Moffat, who also argued that the resourcing of different cases needs to be looked at.

“I think questions need to be asked about the resourcing that the Crown put into investigating these two cases”, he said. “From my client’s point of view, Laura and Mhairi were waiting more than four years for a decision to be made, yet here a decision has been made within months.

“From my client’s point of view, they’re entitled to the same level of service as anyone else is.” like ‘you’re just a wee family, you don’t understand this, we’re the ones who understand’. It was almost like ‘just shut up and go away, let us do our job’, but they seemed to forget that job was investigating our children’s deaths.”

The relatives also have concerns over the Crown’s decision not to prosecute Mr Payne for less serious charges such as making a false declaration to the DVLA and they are wondering why if prosecutors are looking at prosecuting Mr Clarke for "common law fraud" for lying to the DVLA, the same option was not considered in their case.

This was backed by the lawyer representing the Stewart family, Colin Moffat, who also argues that the resourcing of cases dealt with by the Crown Office needs looking at. I think questions need to be asked about the resourcing that the Crown put into investigating these two cases,” he said. “From my client’s point of view, Laura and Mhairi were waiting more than four years for a decision to be made, yet here a decision has been made within months,” he said.

A Crown Office spokesman said: "The Solicitor General met both families last month and agreed to consider all of the issues which they raised with her. That process is under way and will result in a further meeting between the Solicitor General and the families once it has concluded.

"There will no further comment on this matter until that meeting has taken place."