A PAINTER was taken to hospital after he fell from scaffolding outside a hostel for the homeless.

The man was working at Bellgrove Hotel on the Gallowgate when he slipped from the second floor of the scaffold to the first.

He suffered a head injury and was taken to Glasgow's Royal Infirmary but his condition is not thought serious.

The man, thought to be in his 20s, is understood to have fallen between the scaffolding and the exterior wall of the hostel.

Checks carried out by health and safety officials from Glasgow City Council are understood to have found no fault with the scaffolding.

The hotel, which houses many homeless men, is undergoing improvement works.

Manager Joe McKee said: "We've got a painting firm in and one of the lads was sitting stripping and painting windows and he fell from one level to the next inside the scaffolding.

"We don't know how it happened because it's such a narrow space.

"Health and safety have been out and everything was fine with the scaffolding.

"I'm led to believe the young guy is OK."

East End MSP John Mason has called for tighter regulations at the hotel. Unlike care homes, which are monitored by bodies such as the Care Inspectorate, the Bellgrove Hotel is a private hotel.

caroline.wilson @eveningtimes.co.uk