SHE led her party to one of the most sensational nights in its history and opinion polls have put her head and shoulders above her political rivals in terms of popularity.

For some, it seems, supporting Nicola Sturgeon at the ballot box is simply not enough.

A range of merchandise has become available to her fans, with her party attempting to cash in on their leader's approval ratings by selling paraphernalia going far beyond the discreet pin badge. Party HQ has been producing its own Sturgeon-inspired football shirts, teddy bears and mugs since last year.

But even this, apparently, has failed to satisfy the market for First Minister fanatics with a colourful - and at times bizarre - selection of unofficial 'Nicolabilia' appearing in recent months.

After all, why buy an out-of-date t-shirt commemorating last year's tour of Scotland (half price on the SNP website at £8) when you could sleep every night on an 'I Love Nicola' pillowcase, complete with a love heart and photograph of the Glasgow Southside MSP, on sale for just £1 more on eBay?

And what better riposte to those who might doubt the true left-wing credentials of Ms Sturgeon than a t-shirt that shows the former health secretary in the iconic image of Che Guevara, the Marxist revolutionary, with the SNP ribbon on her beret in place of a star? For the more introverted, it also available on a mug.

Perhaps most striking is the depiction of the First Minister in a design inspired by Soviet-style Communist propaganda. Fists and biceps clenched, bombers soaring overhead against an industrial backdrop with barbed wire and (more) clenched fists in the foreground, she appears to be issuing a rallying call alongside the slogan 'Sturgeon for Progress'.

On the website Redbubble, the design can be printed on to phone cases, travel mugs, skirts and, for £34, even a pair of leggings. Also available is a poster that portrays the First Minister as a member of the Stark family in hit TV series Game of Thrones alongside the slogan 'Scotland is Coming' and her as femme fatale, clutching a copy of the referendum White Paper, Scotland's Future.

Susan Hanning began selling t-shirts and mugs depicting Alex Salmond as Che Guevara during the referendum campaign after her husband Paul came up with the design. After Mr Salmond stood down, he made a similar Sturgeon-inspired image and sales have soared.

Originally from Edinburgh, she said she initially started selling the items for fun from a small business she runs from her home in Harrogate, Yorkshire, and as a way of showing support for the SNP from south of the border.

"We did the Alex Salmond one just for a laugh, but we sold loads of them," she added. "We thought it would stop after the referendum but it didn't. Then we thought we'd better change it over to Nicola Sturgeon. It was a slow-burner at first, but then that one went crazy as well. Now we've sold far more Nicola Sturgeon than Alex Salmond ones.

"I woke up one day and we'd had 175 eBay orders overnight. I thought it was a mistake but it turned out it had caught on on Twitter. Even with the general election over we're still selling them on a regular basis, including to ex-pats in places like America, Brazil and Japan.

"We have had a few negative comments, with people saying she's not like Che Guevara, but it's just a bit of fun and that image means lots of different things to different people. It must be strange for Nicola Sturgeon to see all this stuff on the internet, but it just shows how popular she is and it's fantastic for little businesses like mine."

Redbubble's chief executive, Martin Hosking, said of Ms Sturgeon appearing on Redbubble: "Nicola Sturgeon works started to appear on Redbubble as her prominence has increased in Scotland and indeed more broadly.

"Redbubble often reflects emergent themes in popular culture because of the size and diversity of the creative community behind the site."

Elsewhere on the internet, Nicola Sturgeon hip flasks are on sale, as well as prints of a painting of the First Minister's smiling face, sold ready to be hung on a living room wall.

An SNP spokesman said: "The official SNP merchandise might not (yet) feature a range of Nicola Sturgeon trousers - but our excellent range of items available at snpstore.org has made great strides in recent months."