SCOTS have been warned not to photograph their completed independence referendum ballot papers -or write the words yes or no on them.

Officials said that pictures of filled in voting slips could violate the secrecy of the ballot. Writing anything except an 'X' on a ballot paper could also risk it being disqualified, they added.

The warnings appeared to fall on deaf ears yesterday, with many voters flooding social media websites with pictures of their completed ballot papers. A source said that the words yes or no could be particularly confusing for those counting votes.

"If someone writes yes in the yes box it is fairly easy to tell how they wanted to vote.

"But the same is not true for two no's - which is technically a double negative".

Mary Pitcaithly, the chief counting officer for the ­referendum, said: "While it is not necessarily a criminal offence to photograph a completed ballot paper either at home or within a polling place, it is strongly discouraged as it could violate the secrecy of the ballot, which is fundamental to the integrity of the process.

"Given the risk that ­someone taking a photograph inside a polling place may be in breach of the law, whether intentionally or not, my advice is that photos should not be taken inside polling places."