THE campaign to save the Union has been plunged into chaos by a Glasgow busker.

Better Together's top strategists and volunteers are being driven to distraction by a musician who plays beneath their new offices in the city's Sauchiehall Street.

Campaigners admit they are unable to concentrate as a result of his Hank Marvin-inspired electric guitar playing.

The busker, Jim Ward, 54, plays for up to eight hours a day, most weekdays, campaign insiders say.

His repertoire - which Better Together staffers complain is "limited" - includes John Williams's Deer Hunter theme music and Apache, the instrumental made famous by Hank Marvin and The Shadows.

A Better Together insider said: "Everyone's whistling Apache. No-one can get it out of their heads. He plays three songs on a loop and it's become very hard for folk to concentrate.

"Right now he is doing more for independence than Alex Salmond."

The strain caused by the busker's music has become so bad volunteers are organising a whipround in the hope they might cover his earnings for a day and persuade him to take a break.

Professional musician and guitar teacher Mr Ward, from Glasgow, is a familiar face in the city centre, having entertained shoppers with his classic rock guitar instrumentals for the past nine years.

Yesterday he expressed surprise to find himself playing a potentially key role in the campaign over Scotland's future.

Mr Ward, who has yet to decide who to support said: "It's the first I've heard of it because no one has come to me to talk about it."