A psychiatric patient has won a Supreme Court appeal against the smoking ban at Carstairs but will still not be allowed to smoke at the hospital.

Charles McCann has repeatedly challenged the ban in court, claiming it violates his human rights.

Judges at the UK's highest court unanimously supported his latest appeal on on Tuesday and patients will now be allowed to possess cigarettes - but a quirk of the ruling means they still cannot smoke them.

Patients have been banned from smoking at Carstairs since 2011.

They were previously allowed to smoke outside the South Lanarkshire hospital but the policy reportedly caused problems for staff.

Mr McCann argued the ban was unfair, pointing out he would be allowed to smoke if he was a prisoner in a jail.

Judges said this was a matter of timing rather than policy as the Scottish Government intends to extend the smoking ban to cover prisons.

Lawyers on both sides of the case now have 21 days to provide written submissions on whether or not the smoking ban can be separated from the rest of the ban on tobacco.

Mr McCann, who was previously prosecuted for public order offences, suffers from schizophrenia.