Scottish independence result: Petition calling for inquiry into vote counting reaches 28,000 signatures

Over two million people voted to reject independence

Ballots arrive to be counted at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre during the Scottish referendum in Aberdeen

A petition calling for an independent inquiry into the Scottish referendum vote count has already garnered almost 28,000 signatures, despite calls from Alex Salmond to accept "the democratic verdict of the people of Scotland".

Scotland rejected independence and chose to continue its 307-year-old union on Thursday, with over two million people voting to keep the United Kingdom together in a clear margin.

Despite winning a majority of votes in some areas - including the nation's largest city Glasgow - the Yes campaign failed to secure enough support to win the historic referendum, failing to take key targets like Clackmannanshire and the Western Isles and falling well behind in the capital Edinburgh.

The Scottish First Minister conceded defeat and called on the leaders of the three main pro-Union parties to live up to promises of further devolution they made during the referendum campaign.

However, news of the No campaign’s win was met with anger from pro-nationalists, with some turning to Twitter to claim the vote was “rigged”.

The petition on the 38 Degrees website calls for the vote-counting procedures to be investigated and for an independent re-count of all votes.

It comes after the Yes campaign in Dundee was forced to clarify that ballot cards had not yet been sorted into Yes or No piles, after footage emerged showing Yes papers on a No table.

In Glasgow, police were investigating allegations of electoral fraud at polling stations when the city’s council alerted them to 10 suspected cases of voters impersonating other people.

However, claims that voting was rigged were slammed by some on social media, with Twitter users demanding they "get a grip" and "realise there was no majority in Scotland".