IT has been said that a consequence of the referendum has been to create a divided Scottish society.

But division is a permanent feature of Helensburgh.

There are three distinct communities here: the well-heeled commuters who travel daily to Glasgow, an indigenous working class and those with close ties to the institution which casts its imposing shadow over the independence debate - the nearby Faslane naval base.

There is little integration between the groups, which are separated geographically as well as socially. There are the affluent neighbourhoods and outlying villages, the Churchill and Smugglers Way estates which house naval families and the Kirkmichael scheme, where deprivation levels compare to the poorest districts of any UK city.

Yet most here are viewing the debate at least in part through the prism of the base. It makes Helensburgh a fascinating place to gauge public opinion with September 18 fast-approaching, a fact not lost on the world's media. TV crews from Germany, Belgium and Japan have been visitors in recent weeks.

One voter, enjoying scampi and chips on the seafront, says she is voting Yes solely to rid her hometown of its association with nuclear weapons. She insists many of her friends share her view but refuses to be named, giving an indication of the passion the issue inflames here.

Meanwhile, No supporters claim that thousands of jobs would be threatened if Trident is removed from Faslane, despite the promise that it would become the headquarters of a new Scottish Defence Force with independence.

Michael Curley, a prominent No campaigner in the town, runs The Buffet Shop. The walls of his cafe and delicatessen are proudly adorned with naval plaques, representing the ships and submarines the business has supplied food to.

He recites the familiar arguments about the economic benefits of Faslane, saying the area is lucky to have a major recession-proof industrial complex on its doorstep, before launching a defence of the nuclear deterrent. "There's a peace camp, and they are nice people there, but it's actually a protest camp," he says. "The real peace camp is Faslane, which has helped keep peace for 70 years." Mr Curley, who says he is proud of being both Scottish and British and speaks of a special bond within the UK, predicts a 70-30 split in favour of No in Helensburgh.

He is right that, within the town boundaries, a No vote is more than likely. A description of the town as one of the most British places in Scotland is backed by fact. More than one-fifth of the town's population is England-born, almost three times the national average.

Pat Donald moved here from Newcastle in 1969. She is enjoying the sun in Colquhoun Square with her friend, June Warren, who moved to Scotland from Hemel Hempstead, just north of London, in the late 60s and came to Helensburgh in 1978. Both are retired.

Mrs Donald has returned her postal ballot voting No, while Mrs Warren will back the UK at the polling station next week. "I feel we'd be going back in history, instead of looking to the future," Mrs Donald says. "I feel England and Scotland are combined."

Making an observation supported by recent polls which suggests a comfortable victory for Yes if the votes of the 60-plus age group were removed, Mrs Warren adds: "All of the older people I know are saying No."

While the Better Together campaign has a strong foothold here, Yes is putting up a fight. An old bank, one of the town centre's most imposing buildings, has been converted into the headquarters of the local pro-independence campaign. The room adjacent to a shop selling Yes merchandise is a hive of activity as volunteers hammer away at keyboards and canvass opinion over the phone.

There is even talk that a small number of navy personnel are planning to vote Yes, attracted by career opportunities that may open up in a new Scottish force. Yet it is hard to gauge opinion in the naval areas of town. In Churchill Square, the families of sailors clam up at the mention of independence.

Dr Margaret Pollock is running the Yes campaign in Helensburgh and Lomond. A prominent local SNP member, she says she has a core group of around 100 volunteers at her disposal, coming from across the political spectrum.

She admits that Faslane is the dominant issue, but cites Ministry of Defence figures that state only 520 civilian jobs rely directly on Trident, compared to the 11,000 the No campaign have said would be at risk in the event of independence. She also stresses that many of the base's workers return to homes far away from the town at weekends, meaning they contribute less to the local economy.

"It's not as important in terms of jobs as people might think", Dr Pollock says. "If we get a Yes it will be home of the Scottish Defence Forces so we'd actually have more people working here."

The retired dental surgeon says that until a few weeks ago she would have agreed that the No campaign would have won comfortably in Helensburgh. But while accepting that the town itself is unlikely to back Yes, she insists there has been a significant shift in opinion over the past fortnight.

"We've had so many people changing their minds," she says. "They come in, talk to us and get information, and turn to Yes. I'm not saying we're going to get a Yes in Helensburgh, but we may well do when you take in the peripheral areas."

There is some evidence on the streets for Dr Pollock's optimism. Roger Powell was shopping at the town's Waitrose. A successful English-born entrepreneur, he lives in the exclusive village of Shandon, in between Helensburgh and Faslane. His business, which provides vehicle history checks for the DVLA and insurance firms, has bases in Glasgow and Stockport, just outside Manchester.

It is the profile of a No voter, if ever there was one. Yet he admits that he is becoming increasingly receptive to the idea of independence. "There was no way I would have considered voting for independence, I probably still won't," he says. "But Yes have made a much better fist of it recently and I can understand why people who are undecided are going to Yes.

"The potential of Scotland is enormous, it's whether we could achieve it. I have been 100 per cent going to vote No, now that's probably 10 per cent less likely. I wouldn't have believed that if you'd said it even a few weeks ago."