A man who assaulted two people with an axe and then cut his own throat was reported to police days before the attack, it has emerged.

Officers were first alerted after the 33-year-old sent a series of threatening messages to his ex-partner's family on April 9 last year.

They did not detain him, however, partly because of confusion over which division of Police Scotland was responsible.

Four days later, the 33-year-old attacked his ex-partner's brother-in-law on St Vincent Street in Glasgow and injured a community support officer.

He was arrested at the scene and died of his wounds in hospital.

Text messages and letters found after his death show he intended to kill his victim, according to a newly-published report.

Police Scotland was repeatedly contacted by the family of the man's former partner from April 9 onwards, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) reported.

Officers visited them just before midnight on April 10 and a short time later advised the area control room that they intended to visit the man at his home.

However, they were told not to because the crime had been committed in another part of Scotland. The investigation was passed to another division but no further action was taken.

The Pirc concluded: "It was not possible to determine whether, if Police Scotland had taken action to detain the man following the reports from the family, that this would have dissuaded him from carrying out the attacks and then taking his own life."

However, it has recommended that Police Scotland gives "clear guidance" to officers about the ownership of criminal enquiries.

The family of the man who carried out the attack - who has never been publicly identified - issued a statement on Friday saying he had been suffering from "serious mental health problems".

On April 9, the man responsible for the attack on St Vincent Street sent threatening text messages to members of his ex-partner's family.

They had broken up several months earlier and it appears he blamed her family for the situation.

They reported him to Police Scotland, expecting immediate action would be taken. However, police made no attempt to detain the 33-year-old.

At around 4pm on April 13, the brother-in-law of his former partner left his workplace on St Vincent Street.

As he walked towards West Nile Street he saw the 33-year-old running towards him and attempted to flee.

However, he slipped and the 33-year-old hit him with an axe concealed inside a plastic bag. A nearby community enforcement officer went to help and was also hit with the axe.

The 33-year-old then removed two utility knives from his pocket and cut his own throat.

Police arrived at the scene at 4.06pm and fired Pava spray at the 33-year-old in an attempt to incapacitate him.

He moved towards the officers, however, and they pulled him to the ground and handcuffed him. The 33-year-old was taken by ambulance to hospital, where he later died.

The Pirc said the officers involved had dealt with the situation "courageously, professionally and proportionately".