Flats will be bought to house some of the most disadvantaged homeless people in Glasgow in a "radical" new charity project.

Christian welfare group Glasgow City Mission has initially committed to purchasing ten flats for those in the city leading the "most chaotic" lives.

The charity says it is frustrated at the level of bureaucracy around vulnerable people getting and sustaining accommodation.

It aims to follow a "housing first" model in which people are provided with a home first and then supported to sustain a permanent tenancy in order to end what it calls the "revolving door" of homelessness.

Similar schemes "have been proven to eradicate homelessness" in areas of North America and Scandinavia where they have implemented, the charity claims.

The ten properties will be managed by a local social enterprise letting agency.

Glasgow City Mission has adopted the "radical plans" in response to the growing visibility of homeless people in the streets of Glasgow as well as rising drug deaths.

Drugs fatalities are at an all-time high in Scotland, reaching 867 in 2016, with the rate per head of population two and a half times that of the UK figure.

Grant Campbell, chief executive of Glasgow City Mission, said: "Many of the highly vulnerable people we work are often caught in a revolving door that sees people lose their tenancy, find themselves on the streets, prison or hospital, and then spend a long time working their way back through the system to receive new accommodation again, only for the cycle to start again.

"Our staff team and our supporters have been frustrated by the bureaucracy and steps needed to be taken by vulnerable people in Glasgow to receive and sustain accommodation.

"Thanks to our generous supporters, we are delighted to be in a position to change this system for initially a small group of the city's most chaotic and disadvantaged people by purchasing new homes for people and providing much needed support."

He said the housing first approach "turns the city's existing accommodation model on its head".

"No longer will people need to progress through different types of accommodation before they are deemed suitable and trustworthy to have their own permanent tenancy," he said.

"Instead, they will receive their house first as the name suggests and then the necessary wraparound support to sustain the tenancy.

"Crucially, this support is flexible and tailored to the needs of the individual, not a one-size-fits-all approach."

Mr Campbell added: "Having the stability of a home that is yours means people take a sense of ownership of it and are less likely to return to the streets."