A third of English voters believe it is time for the country to split from Scotland, according to a new opinion poll.

A third of English voters believe it is time for the country to split from Scotland, according to a new opinion poll.

In a survey carried out by the Sunday Mail, 33% of those questioned said they supported England being independent of Scotland.

Fifty-five per cent were in favour of keeping the Union and 12% said they did not know.

It is an increase on the 31% who said they were in favour of breaking the union when the newspaper carried out the same poll a year ago.

First Minister Alex Salmond welcomed the findings.

The SNP leader told the Sunday Mail: "Scotland and England need a new 21st century relationship, based upon equality and mutual respect and this poll shows that the movement towards independence north of the border is being reflected south of the border.

"Scottish independence means English independence too - governing in the best interests of both our countries, and working as partners in Europe.

"We are winning the argument for Scotland to take responsibility, and benefit from our own natural resources, and that position is striking a chord in England."

The Sunday Mail's figures also suggest that there is more support for independence in England than in Scotland.

In August, a YouGov poll carried out for the Sunday Times found that only 23% of Scots were in favour of independence.

Scotland Office Minister David Cairns claimed the poll showed that separation remains a minority view.

He said: "I am very pleased to see that people in England are as opposed to breaking up Britain as voters in Scotland are.

"This is despite the extreme provocation of Alex Salmond, who is clearly trying to provoke England into an anti-Scottish backlash.

"Voters across the UK recognise that we are stronger together and weaker apart."

The poll, conducted by the Progressive Partnership who surveyed 869 people, also asked English voters if they felt they would be better off financially without Scotland.

While 22% said they would be better off, 60% said it made no difference, 9% said they would be worse off and 10% did not know.