Support for Scottish independence appears to have reached a tipping point due to Brexit.

Analysis of six recent opinion polls puts average support for independence in Scotland at 49% - once undecided voters are excluded.

One recent poll found a majority of 52% of decided voters now back leaving the UK.

The shift towards independence has been entirely driven by voters opposed to Brexit, according to new analysis by the UK's leading pollster.

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The Scottish public is now on the brink of backing independence from the United Kingdom due to Brexit.

That's the unavoidable conclusion to be drawn from the most recent opinion polls.

Analysis this week of six recent surveys by the UK's leading pollster John Curtice found that support for independence among decided voters is now at 49% - just shy of a majority.

Indeed that majority may have already arrived, according to one recent poll.

According to a survey by the pollster Lord Ashcroft back in August, support for independence was at 52% after undecided voters were excluded.

The claim that Scottish voters do not want another vote is also hard to sustain from this data, with Curtice's analysis showing a clear shift among both pro and anti-independence voters, towards wanting another referendum.

Brexit is driving the UK apart

The shift towards independence among Scots — an average increase in four points from the start of the year — has been driven entirely by voters who are unhappy about the prospect of Brexit.

"All of this increase in support for Yes registered by the polls has occurred among those who voted Remain," Curtice writes.

"The claim that Brexit does not pose any risk to Scotland's future membership of the Union now looks significantly more difficult to sustain."

Indeed, with one recent poll also finding a majority for independence in Northern Ireland, it appears that the warnings that Brexit risked tearing the United Kingdom apart are starting to be realised.

The governing Scottish National Party, which is campaigning for a second independence referendum, welcomed the findings.

"The facts are simple: the SNP has a mandate for a referendum, the Scottish Parliament has voted for a referendum and the Scottish people want an independence referendum," SNP Depute Leader Keith Brown said.

"With support for independence growing, the Tories are holding democracy in contempt by opposing a fresh vote."