The lorry driver whose vehicle ploughed into a group of people having a barbecue last month, killing six people, including a heavily pregnant woman, had traces of cocaine in his blood, judges in The Hague were told on Thursday.

‘An indication has been found for the presence of a concentration of cocaine… in the blood of the suspect,’ the public prosecutor said during the remand hearing.

The department was appealing against an earlier court ruling which led to the man, a Spanish national, being released from custody.

The advocate general had said the decision should be overturned because of the cocaine use and the fact that the 45-year-old man has financial problems.

Nevertheless, the court ruled that the man should be released, on the condition that he attend the actual trial in person, refrain from driving any vehicle and keep the public prosecutor in Spain and the Netherlands up to date on where he lived.

Earlier it was suggested the driver may have had an epileptic fit and that possibility is still being looked into.