More than 60,000 pieces of furniture used by some of the world's top athletes during the Commonwealth Games are being distributed to families struggling to make ends meet in Glasgow.

Beds, sofas and wardrobes from the Glasgow 2014 athletes' village are being collected by Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) and passed directly to tenants and community groups.

The programme was announced in the lead-up to the Games and forms part of the legacy which organisers and politicians want to establish.

GHA has catalogued all of the items and started to move them to a storage facility, where they are being distributed.

The association said it will take more than 2,500 return trips by removal vans to carry all the furniture.

A showhome has also been set up on the Wyndford Estate in Maryhill, where tenants, landlords and community groups can view and collect the furniture.

Some of the items were also used during the London Olympics before being relocated to Scotland for the Commonwealth Games.

The likes of Usain Bolt and home favourites Eilidh Child, Hannah Miley and Ross Murdoch stayed in the village during the Games and made use of the furniture.

Other items being distributed in the programme include bedside tables, bean bags and cushions.

GHA chairman Gordon Sloane said: "We know many tenants are struggling to make ends meet in the current economic climate and we're pleased this furniture has been made available to help people furnish their homes.

"The amount of furniture being uplifted from the village is way beyond our expectations and while this means this is a huge operation, it means many thousands of people will benefit.

"It is a very tangible way in which the Commonwealth Games has left behind a legacy for the people of Glasgow."

It is planned that 700 houses within the athlete's village will be sold or rented and a new 120-bed care home will be established on the site.