THE design of the ballot paper for the independence referendum is being kept secret - because of fears over forgeries.

The first time most voters will see the slip is when they enter a polling booth on September 18.

Officials often release sample ballots before elections, but with the independence vote, the risk of counterfeits is too great, organisers warn.

They fear the simple black-and- white ballot - which asks just one ­question "Should Scotland be an ­independent country?" - could be easily duplicated.

So they are keeping under wraps the exact design, due to feature a unique identifying mark on each slip.

In 2007, officials published pictures of what the voting paper would look like weeks in advance of that year's Holyrood elections.

A spokeswoman for Mary Pitcaithly, the chief counting officer for the referendum, said that no images of the ballot paper would be published "for security reasons".

However, she added that some voters would see the design when the first postal votes arrive in September.