The SNP are heading for a huge landslide in Scotland, nearly wiping out all other parties north of the border, according to a nationwide exit poll.

Nicola Sturgeon's party is on course to win 55 out of 59 seats in the general election - gaining 20 from the 25 seats it won two years ago.

It is a result which, if borne out, would be the party's second best ever performance after its stunning 2015 victory.

Four years ago, the SNP took 56 seats and 50% of the vote in Scotland.

The SNP leader has called for caution over the exit poll, tweeting: "It is just an exit poll and there are many marginals, so let's just wait and see."

She also said the UK-wide forecast was "grim", with Boris Johnson's Conservatives set for a sizeable majority of 86 seats.

Sturgeon thanked all the voters who had backed her party in a separate social media post.

After the results of the 2017 snap poll, 46 out of 59 seats in Scotland became considered marginal - with some of the tightest contests in the country fought north of the border.

But should the SNP result predicted be accurate, it suggests the party will take seats from the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems - including Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson in East Dunbartonshire.

Former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said earlier this week she would "happily wager to strip naked on the banks of Loch Ness and subject myself to a Hogmanay wild swimming session" if the SNP won more than 50 seats.

The exit poll predictions were published just as voting closed at 10pm on Thursday.