SCOTLAND will vote for independence if the UK withdraws from the European Union, according to a ground-breaking new poll.

As David Cameron prepares to put EU membership to a referendum as early as this summer, the Panelbase survey for The Sunday Times and Heart FM reveals that the price of putting the issue to a vote could be the break-up of Britain.

The poll of 1,053 voters in Scotland and 1,034 adults in England and Wales finds that Scots are overwhelmingly opposed to “Brexit” (by 65% to 35%) while those south of the border England are narrowly in favour (53% to 47%).

As a result of England’s far larger population, just over 51% support there for Brexit would be enough to outweigh Scottish support for