SCOTS are paying £180 million every year for Trident, the SNP has claimed.

According to their research, the pro-rata share of the £2.26 billion costs for the nuclear deterrent is 8.2%.

The party said the money being thrown at the nukes could pay for 750 new nurses, 370 police officers, 1500 teachers, and 235 doctors.

MSP Bill Kidd, who is the co-president of the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) group in Scotland, said: “The millions of pounds in taxpayer money that is being wasted by Westminster could go towards making sure our public services come first; building hospitals, training public sector workers, improving schools, and lifting people out of Tory-inflicted poverty.

“Instead of investing in our vital services, the Scottish Government is being forced to mitigate for cuts, wasted funds, and unprecedented damage caused to our economy by the Tories, and Labour’s sorry lack of opposition.”

Trident is set to be a key debate at the SNP’s party conference in Edinburgh next month, with delegates asked to vote on a strict deadline for removing the weapons.

The scrapping of Trident played a major role in the independence referendum.

The controversial nuclear weapons have been situated at the site for more than 50 years.

In July 2017, MPs backed the renewal of Trident by 472 to 117.