More women are resorting to so-called 'survival sex' on the streets as they struggle with benefits issues and drug addiction.

A charity which works closely with sex workers has told STV News that it has seen some women feeling forced to return to prostitution after years away from it.

One woman claimed she was back working on the streets because she did not know how else to provide for her children at Christmas.

The Salvation Army’s street project van parks up in Leith Links in Edinburgh three nights a week, with the sole purpose of supporting women working in the area.

Community outreach worker Beverley Johnston is joined by two volunteers who offer a listening ear, hot drinks and biscuits to the women who drop in.

The team hands out condoms and clean needles - supplied by the NHS - as well as toiletries and other essentials.

The service is seen as a vital link between the NHS and police; it focuses on “harm reduction” and looking out for women’s welfare.

At this time of year, the street project also gives out gifts and children’s toys so the women have something to open - or to give - on Christmas Day.

STV News joined the team on one of its outings in December. That night, seven women dropped in.

One of them was former heroin addict Amber, which is not her real name.

“I’ve been clean for three-and-a-half years now, I’m on methadone,” she said.

“I’ve just came back out [on the streets] because I’m on benefits just now and I’m really struggling towards Christmas.

“It’s really hard being a mother, and thinking, ‘what am I going to do, where am I going to get this money from?’.”

Mrs Johnston said the service provides the charity an insight into the women’s lives and allows them to monitor how they are coping.

She said: “They say they feel a lot safer when they know the van is in Leith. We had an incident - an attack - a few weeks ago, and the girl was brought here as a place of safety.”

Mrs Johnston said she has seen an increase in the number of women selling sex on the streets.

“Women who have not been out for a number of years are back on the streets,” she said.

“Most of our girls are in addiction, and are on benefits, but are in poverty because of their addictions.”

The issues the Salvation Army team hear about every week are also reflected elsewhere in the country.

Aberdeen South and Kincardine SNP MSP Maureen Watt recently told the Scottish Parliament that a local food bank charity in her constituency had been contacted by police to support women who have started to sell sex because of issues with their benefits.

Community Food Initiative North East (Cfine) said some women were struggling to pay for daily essentials.

Earlier in the year, the Work and Pensions Committee at Westminster took evidence from four anonymous women who said they turned or returned to sex work at least in part because of the Universal Credit benefits system.

The Department of Work and Pensions has said it is “committed to providing a safety net for the most vulnerable in society”, adding: “We have made improvements to Universal Credit such as extending advances, removing waiting days and introducing housing benefit run-on.

"In Scotland, people can also choose to be paid Universal Credit twice monthly."