CONVICTED drugs mule Melissa Reid is expected to say in a jail in Peru for at least another six months amid worries red tape is delaying her transfer to the UK.

The 20-year-old was set to return home after it emerged as early as April last year, that the Scottish Prison Service was considering a repatriation application from Lima authorities.

Reid, from Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire pleaded guilty to drug smuggling along with Michaella McCollum from Co Tyrone in September, 2013. Both were jailed for six years and eight months.

The pair were working on the Spanish party island of Ibiza last summer when they claim they were forced to board a flight with 24lb of

cocaine in food packets hidden inside their luggage.

They were caught with the £1.5 million haul at Lima airport on August 6.

It is understood the Peruvian authorities have not yet signed the necessary paperwork to allow the pair to return.

In March, Reid's mum Debbie flew to Peru in an abortive bid to get her daughter released under new laws which meant that foreigners serving time in the country could apply to be considered for release after serving a third of their sentence.