THE developers behind the scrapped Circuit of Wales in Ebbw Vale had dramatically over-predicted the number of jobs which it would create, it has been revealed.

The £425 million scheme, which would have seen a racetrack as well as a hotel and other facilities built in Blaenau Gwent, was scrapped in June when the Welsh Government refused to approve the project for the third time.

And now documents on which the decision not to move forward was based have been revealed.

Among the revelations are that the overall amount of funding which would have been required by the Welsh Government would have been £373.5 million - 56 per cent of the project's total cost.

Wales' economy and infrastructure secretary Ken Skates had said the project, which was first announced in 2011, would not be approved unless it was at least 50 per cent funded by the private sector.

It was also revealed the number of jobs which would have been created during the construction of the racetrack would have been just 154, far short of the 1,461 claimed by developers the Heads of the Valleys Development Company. Although a further 696 jobs would have been created during construction of the other elements of the project, this is still lower than the 893 predicted by the developers.

It was also revealed the Heads of the Valleys had based a number of its claims on reports created as long ago as December 2012, and had based revenue predictions on the assumption that the venue would be full to capacity for every event, despite trends showing a decline in attendances at motorsport events.

In a statement Mr Skates said: "The financial and construction reports that have been published draw attention to the risks highlighted by our advisors, including the risk to public finances that would have been created by offering the requested guarantee.

"The review of the economic impact evidence considers the benefits to Wales that were claimed by the developer."

He added a Fit and Proper Person report into a number of the main figures at the Heads of the Valleys had not been released as chief executive Michael Carrick had not given consent to the documents being made publicly available.

The scrapped project cost Welsh taxpayers more than £9.3 million.

In 2012 the Welsh Government handed the Heads of the Valleys a £2 million grant, and, in May 2016, it was forced to pay out more than £7.3 million to Santander after the bank recalled a loan the firm was unable to repay.

When the project was refused the Welsh Government announced it would instead built a new automotive technology park in Ebbw Vale, funded with £100 million over the next 10 years, which it said could create up to 1,500 new jobs.