The Health Secretary has announced a public inquiry will be held into the outbreak of Clostridium difficile at a hospital linked to the deaths of 18 patients.

Former judge Lord Coulsfield will lead the inquiry into the C.difficile outbreak at the Vale of Leven Hospital in West Dunbartonshire, Nicola Sturgeon told Holyrood.

"The time is now right to confirm that there will be a public inquiry into the C.diff outbreak at the Vale of Leven," he told MSPs on Wednesday.

Inquiries are still being carried out as part of a criminal investigation into the outbreak, Ms Sturgeon added.

A decision by the Crown Office on whether to bring criminal charges was expected by the end of June.

Relatives of those affected by the outbreak have lobbied the Scottish Parliament and Labour Party conference in recent months calling for an inquiry and welcomed the news.

Michelle Stewart, secretary of the families' C.diff Justice Group, said: "Today's announcement is a tremendous victory for the families who have fought for over a year to ensure there is a full public inquiry into what really happened at the Vale of Leven.

"A public inquiry will mean that we can finally put the matter to rest because at last we will know the truth about how our loved ones died."

The infection was the primary cause of death in nine patients, and was also a contributory factor in nine other individuals between December 2007 and June last year.

A Holyrood committee backed calls for a public inquiry earlier this year into the outbreak.

Ms Sturgeon faced repeated calls for a public inquiry into events at the hospital in Alexandra. She previously said there was a risk that an inquiry could prejudice possible criminal proceedings.

But on Wednesday she said that, as the investigations which were taking place had made "significant progress", she believed the time was right to confirm an inquiry would take place.

She told MSPs the public inquiry would only be able to start its substantive work when the current investigations, and any prosecutions arising from them, had concluded.