A man who was begging on the streets of Edinburgh was invited to Sweden for Christmas after giving two tourists directions to a pub.

Jimmy Fraser, 54, was begging on a busy street in the Scottish Capital when Swedish sisters Annis, 37, and Emma, 31, Lindqvist asked him for directions to a pub.

From that moment, an unlikely friendship blossomed, as Annis and Jimmy stayed in touch by text after swapping numbers when she returned to say goodbye.

Annis invited Jimmy home for Christmas, and even went as far as buying his tickets and sending money for a new passport to help make it happen.

Now back in the Capital, Jimmy - who moved to Edinburgh 13 years ago after a family breakdown left him homeless - said he still couldn't believe what had happened.

Jimmy said: "I couldn't believe it anyway at first.

"People tell you, 'See you tomorrow, I'll get you a drink' and then nothing happens but this did happen actually, so it was really weird.

"I told some of my friends and they went, 'No chance, it's not going to happen' and I went, 'we'll find out - if it happens, it happens'.

"I got their phone number off them and texted them saying, 'hope you have a safe journey home' and all that and 'text me when you get there'.

"We just started texting each other since then and next thing you know I've got a passport in my hand and that was it, I was flying away somewhere."

Annis lives in the Swedish town of Sågmyra with her husband Daniel and three children, aged 13, eight and five, who all welcomed Jimmy into their annual Christmas celebrations.

He watched local ice hockey team Leksands IF, went to Christmas markets and midnight mass as he was treated like one of the family.

He even tried some local cuisine in the form of elk meatballs. Jimmy got on so well with Annis and her family that they've already invited him back to Sweden for Easter.

After arriving in Edinburgh, Jimmy was homeless for ten years until he has found accommodation through The Ark Trust three years ago, a charity for the homeless which has since closed.

But he still finds it difficult to make ends meet and has been unable to find work.

Jimmy added: "People just walk past - they don't even bother and leave you lying there whereas people like Annis will pick you up and help you."

Recalling when they first met, Annis said: "Jimmy was sitting on some stairs and we walked by but my sister stopped and wanted to go back and sit down with him, so we did.

"We sat there for hours, got to meet the people who offer food to the homeless and just talked about life and stuff.

"We went back the last night to see if he was sitting on the same stairs again and he was.

"But I wanted to do more and I know he hasn't spent Christmas with a family for many years, so I asked him if he wanted to come visit me and my family."

As well as his visit to Sweden, Jimmy's encounter with Annis means he can start volunteering again as his new passport provides him with the necessary ID.

Jimmy, a dad-of-two, said it was "rare" to find someone as kind as Annis.

"It was amazing, I miss them so much. If I could go back tomorrow I would."