After a three-hour hearing at London's Appeal Court on Tuesday, Lord Justice Pill refused Mark Connolly's legal team permission to use fresh evidence in the case.

But the judge – sitting with Mr Justice Burton and Judge Findlay Baker QC – said he was now forced to adjourn the appeals brought by Connolly, 44, and his co-accused Roy Kennett, 29, who were each found guilty of four counts of manslaughter over the tragedy, which happened on February 15, 2004.

Both men are appealing against their convictions, while Connolly also argues that his jail term was "manifestly excessive."

The case will now be re-listed for a hearing at a future date.

Colin Buckley, 49, of Carnforth; Darren Burgess, 30, also of Carnforth; Chris Waters, 53, of Morecambe; and Gary Tindall, 46, of Tebay, were all killed when a wagon carrying 16 tonnes of steel rail tracks came out of the darkness and hit them as they worked on the West Coast main line. They had no warning of the approaching wagon.

Connolly, of Anglesey, and crane operator, Kennett from Maidstone, were each found guilty of four counts of manslaughter after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court last March.

Safety
Father-of-two Connolly was also found guilty of three counts of breaching health and safety laws and Kennett of a single count of breaching health and safety legislation.

Connolly was jailed for nine years and Kennett for two years.

It was the prosecution case that Connolly, the boss of MAC Machinery Services, had deliberately disconnected the hydraulic brakes on two wagons because it was cheaper than repairing the wagons properly.

Connolly's lawyers claimed he had every reason to believe that any risk of disaster would be averted because of safety guidelines requiring that timber sleepers be laid across tracks where workmen are employed.

Mr Richard Lissack QC said the new point he wished to explore focused on a new "safety bulletin" issued last year in the wake of an accident near King's Cross station which he said demonstrated the importance of maintaining gradient protection.

But Lord Justice Pill, refusing the application to bring in fresh evidence, said the new guidance did not apply to the circumstances in which the Tebay tragedy occurred.

The judge's ruling means the two men must now wait for another court date to present other grounds why they say their convictions should be declared as "unsafe."

The bulk of those arguments centre on alleged misdirections to the jury by the trial judge.

gayle.rouncivell@lancasterguardian.co.uk