RESIDENTS were forced to flee their homes after a dangerous building suddenly needed to be evacuated.

We told on Friday how Glasgow Street in the West End was closed to traffic after a health and safety threat was identified.

Now it has emerged that the base of a front wall of a tenement block has "significant movement" and the flats were deemed unsafe.

Council officers said that factor Hacking and Paterson had been trying to bring property owners together to organise vital repairs but there was no majority agreement.

It is understood a structural engineer had been appointment but the necessary work was not carried out and the building deteriorated further.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "As part of the factors's previous engagement with the owners I understand that they had appointed and commissioned a structural engineer to provide report with recommendations that had not been implemented.

"As such, last Thursday the wall was then found to have deteriorated to a condition that the Glasgow City Council Structural Engineer considered that the building was no longer safe.

"In the interests of public safety it was therefore evacuated, with the formation of an exclusion zone."

The property was evacuated on Thursday night with tenants being moved to temporary accommodation.

The road is still closed between Glasgow Street and Bellgrove Lane and is expected to remain so until the building is secured.

All eight properties in the tenement are private lets and so the council's private sector housing team is expected to work with the factor and owners to have them reconsider their position to not go ahead with works.

The council spokesman added: "It may, however, be that the scope of works will require to be increased to reflect the current position."