Almost half a million pounds was handed out in emergency payments for food in Glasgow in the last year.

Crisis Grants in the city worth more than £1m were paid out to people in extreme hardship in need of urgent cash help.

Food was the biggest reason with £413,800 paid out in amounts of around £90 to people who applied for a Crisis Grant.

The cash to pay for food in July to September last year is a 50% increase on the same three months the year before, increasing from £72,700 to £108,600

The figures which show people in desperate need of cash to buy food are separate to the number of people who have been referred to food banks in the city for essential short term supplies

Essential heating costs were the second highest cost with more than £350,000 paid out.

Other items like bedding, flooring, washing machines and cookers for people moving into a home made up the rest of the amount in the city.

The Scottish Government Welfare Fund statistics show the number of applications in Glasgow to the fund increased by 60% over the year from July to September 2013 to the same period the following year.

Between July and September last year 7838 people applied to the fund for either a Community Care Grant or a crisis Grant.

The average Community Care Grant was around £700 in Glasgow while Crisis Grants were £90.

Across Scotland more than £4m was paid out to help with food costs. Almost doubling form £533,000 in July to September 2013to just over £1m for the same period a year later.

Alex Neil Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice said the level of poverty was unacceptable.

He said: "That anyone should live in poverty in a wealthy country is completely unacceptable and we'll continue to tackle poverty and inequality to create a more prosperous and fairer society.

"The Scottish Welfare Fund is a lifeline for people to buy the everyday items or cover basic living costs that so many of us take for granted. 19,025 households in Glasgow have now been helped by the Scottish Welfare Fund in its first 18 months of operation.

"The Scottish Government has allocated £33 million a year to the Scottish Welfare Fund to make sure that we continue to reach out to households in the most deprived areas. Many families are paying a heavy price for the UK Government's welfare reforms and this investment helps to mitigate the effects of these cuts on some of our most vulnerable people."