Elaine Graham, 25, former newspaper photographer, moved to Faslane Peace Camp last month and said she won’t leave until Trident is removed from Scotland.

She told the Reporter: “I’d been coming up to the camp dropping off donations, and popping by as I was passing. Then I thought I needed to join this to make a difference, I left my job at a newspaper, gave up my flat, closed my photography studio, and sold all my possessions.

“I was really not happy in my work at the time and when I left, it was a massive weight off my shoulders. I gave up my flat at the exact same time. I thought I can keep doing what I’m doing and not be morally satisfied – or I can give it up for what I believe in.

“People think possessions matter and things matter but they don’t. I decided to do something for me, rather than what people expected me to do. It was a big change and scary, but I’m so happy I did it. I still work freelance, I have a good balance here.” Faslane Peace Camp is a caravan settlement set up around HM Naval Base Clyde in which protesters against nuclear weapons live and work, and it has been in place for around 33 years.

The former Vale of Leven Academy pupil told the Reporter she feels a real sense of community in the settlement.

She said: “I’m in my own caravan, it’s really cosy. People seem to think we live in the woods, but we have WiFi and electricity from solar panels, running water and toilets.

“It is a lot harder than standard living, you can’t switch on a switch and expect the light to go straight on. I use a lot of candles, and chop wood for my boiler.” Elaine said her family and friends have come to terms with her new living arrangements.

She added: “At first my family were like ‘what are you doing?’ But after a while my mum just said: ‘As long as your happy.’ “They weren’t shocked, I’ve been going to rallies and demos for years, my dad took me to anti-war protests when I was wee.

“There’s a real sense of community here, you eat and cook together, you all live together. Everyone has different opinions, but we’re all united in our protest against nuclear arms.” On Monday, April 13, a major blockade took place at Faslane with hundreds of anti-Trident protesters blocking the gates. Elaine was one of 34 protesters arrested.

She said: “The day before the blockade, I’d done the Kiltwalk, came back to the base, and stayed up making the posters and the tubes to create the human blockade, so I was knackered.

“We were up early at the south gate and as soon as I got locked on more and more people showed up. I was the second person arrested. They cut the tube off my arm, handcuffed me and carried me to a police van where we had to wait for five hours. It was 9pm that night before I was released from Govan Police Station.” Luckily the Scrap Trident team that organised the blockade had the protesters picked up, taken to a local community centre, and helped them home.

Elaine said her first brush with the law won’t put her off her final goal.

She said: “I think with the referendum people have realised what exactly is on our doorstep. People should always question these things, especially locally.

“Trident is a big issue now, and the bigger parties are being forced to give their opinion on it. That’s important.

“I plan on staying here until Trident is gone, I’m not leaving, I’m prepared to stay for a long time.