THE founder of a foodbank in an area that recorded one of Scotland's biggest Yes votes has said the referendum result has taken away hope for users of the service.

The soaring use of foodbanks was one of the key issues raised during the debate, with aspirations for their use to cease in an independent Scotland.

Julie Webster, founder and co-ordinator of Greater Maryhill Foodbank, said the opportunity of a Yes vote had instilled a sense of hope in users of the service .

But in the wake of the result of the vote, she said she spent most of Friday in tears wondering how she would face their disappointment.

"If we had got a Yes vote then the foodbanks would have eventually been done away with," she said.

"Now I feel as if there is no recovery and I can't see a recovery for the vulnerable groups.

"If they ask me how they think things are going to be I am not going to lie to them.

"The cuts that are still to come will hit the vulnerable more than the middle class."

The foodbank in Maryhill provides emergency food packages to around 300 people every week, a figure which has doubled since it first opened its doors in June last year.

Webster said that typically includes around 100 children under the age of 17, and most of those who seek help are "working poor" - struggling to live on minimum wage or zero-hours contracts.

Many of the users of the foodbank had to be persuaded to register to vote, Webster said. But it did become a topic of conversation among those who were using the service.

She pointed to the example of one young man in his mid-20s who had been intending to vote No because he was "scared".

She said: "I said to him, it is scary but we need to progress and can't go back the way.

"I asked him do you want to live up in that high-rise flat in bad-condition housing for the rest of your life and be visiting a foodbank for the rest of your life?

"Sadly I believe there is a link between welfare reform and foodbanks.

"Foodbanks did not exist in Maryhill until the reform came in and then very quickly they started to grow."

Glasgow, which is Scotland's largest council area and the third-largest city in Britain, backed independence by 53.5% to 46.5%.

Within the city, Maryhill had the highest Yes vote - together with Provan - with both areas recording 57% backing Yes compared to 43% backing No.

The result came despite a final rally for the Better Together campaign taking place at Maryhill's Community Centre Hall, which was addressed by former prime minister Gordon Brown.

Webster, who spent time campaigning for a Yes vote, said: "I think this whole referendum has shown that vulnerable people are no longer weak, because if it has done anything it has strengthened people's power to stand up and talk for themselves and not be suppressed.

"That is something that, even with a No vote, will never be forgotten."