Peru drugs mule Melissa Reid faces a wait of up to 20 days before she can return home to Scotland after her release from prison.

The 22-year-old, from Lenzie in East Dunbartonshire, was jailed in 2013 for trying to smuggle a £1.5m haul of cocaine to Spain with her friend Michaella McCollum, from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland.

Authorities in Peru made the decision to expel her from the country at a court hearing on Friday and she was expected to be released next week.

The convicted drug smuggler faces a wait of up to 20 days until she is allowed to fly home to Scotland.

Because Ms Reid was granted an expulsion order by the court, meaning she will leave Peru, a special procedure must be followed which includes coordination between the authorities, the British Embassy and the Peruvian immigration department, as well as proof of a valid flight ticket being provided.

The court ruled Ms Reid met the legal requirements to be released. She has already served around a third of her six years and eight months sentence.

A magistrate ruled she had been remorseful and shown her "intention to be re-inserted back in to society" at an earlier hearing.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "We can confirm that Melissa Reid has been granted expulsion from Peru.

"We remain in contact with Melissa, her family and the authorities."

Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, her father Billy Reid, 55, said: "We are all relieved and delighted, although I don't think it has fully sunk in yet.

"We went to bed on Friday night unsure of what the future held for us as a family and woke to find out our prayers had been answered."

He thanked the Peruvian authorities for "allowing our daughter to come home to us" and suggested almost three years of worry had "taken it's toll" on the family.

Her co-accused McCollum, 23, left prison last month after serving just over two years. Her release conditions require her to to stay in Peru for an undisclosed period of time on parole.

McCollum and Reid faced the prospect of a maximum 15-year prison term but struck a behind-closed-doors plea bargain to secure a shorter sentence.

They had previously been held at Lima's Virgen de Fatima prison but were moved to the Ancon 2 prison, where McCollum was reportedly held in a cell with 30 other prisoners.

The Scottish Prison Service say they have had no contact from the Peruvian authorities since a request for a transfer back to Scotland was made under the Prisoner Transfer Agreement two years ago and they are not involved in her case.

The women were caught with the £1.5m haul of drugs at Lima Airport as they attempted to board a flight to Madrid in Spain. Customs discovered 24lb of the drug in food packages hidden in their luggage.