PUGNACIOUS pro-independence blog Wings Over Scotland has smashed its annual fundraising target in just over seven hours.

Rev Stuart Campbell, the man behind the often controversial but always hugely popular magazine, had set a goal of £45,000 on the IndieGoGo crowdfunding site for his “levelling the field” cash drive.

By 5pm last night more than a thousand of his supporters had put hands pockets, pushing him over £50,000.

“Wings readers are always phenomenal,” Campbell told The National. “This seems to be even faster so far than last year’s, which did £50,000 in the first 24 hours.”

In a tricky media landscape, Wings Over Scotland is thriving. The site attracts more than 250,000 readers a month, and before the last referendum Campbell's 72-page “Wee Blue Book” was downloaded 550,000 times, and 300,000 printed copies were distributed across Scotland. Another one will be prepared ahead of any second vote on independence.

Campbell says readers understand that his site is about winning people over to the independence cause. “I think people appreciate that we’re blunt, concise and focused, and I think they see a direct link between what we do and persuading people over to Yes, which maybe isn’t the case with some other outlets which are heavy on opinions and ‘culture’ and the like.

“We deal mostly in hard facts, which are a more valuable currency on doorsteps. I could be totally wrong about that, though,” he adds. "Maybe people just like the swearing on Twitter and the Bullseye chat.”

Writing on the IndieGoGo site, gordonmx5 wrote: “I’ve never been so happy to spend 55 quid in my life! A pleasure to contribute, all the best.”

Colin IG Izat said: “Good luck Wings. Here we go.”

Campbell, a former video-games journalist, launched Wings Over Scotland in 2011. In November 2015 he was ranked at number 80 in the Herald newspaper’s “Power 100” list of “The leading Scots who shape our daily lives”.