Winning the independence referendum will be no piece of cake, but the No campaign might have found the recipe for success, according to an unusual poll.

An Edinburgh bakery has been monitoring sales of its Union flag and Saltire-iced cupcakes since March to try to predict the outcome of Scotland's referendum.

Cuckoo's revealed today that the No cake has outsold its rival in the run-up to the historic vote.

The Dundas Street bakery said that of the thousands of its opinion poll cupcakes consumed, 47.7% were No cakes and 43.5% were Yes.

The undecideds - who opted for a cake with an iced question mark - made up the remaining 8.8%.

Co-founder Graham Savage said: "We have seen an increase in sales generally and some big orders have come in from both sides.

"Our poll has been conducted professionally throughout the campaign and we are delighted that the results have shown to be so similar to the official results.

"We have calculated that since the campaign was launched, we have sold 80,000 cupcakes from our full range, including the Opinion Poll cupcake."

Official polls released at the weekend put the Yes and No camps neck and neck.

Three put the No campaign in the lead while one put the independence movement ahead.

The opinion poll cakes are raspberry and white chocolate flavoured and cost £2.50 to take away or £3 to eat in.