The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced last year over 20 state-of-the-art camera positions had been identified in and around Faslane on the A814, Helensburgh and A82 at Loch Lomondside.

Planning permission has now been granted by Argyll and Bute Council for cameras at Glen Friun, Glen Mallon Jetty at Shandon and on land South East of Ranch House Faslane.

Other applications are pending consideration by council planners.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) allows surveillance cameras to automatically register and identify vehicle’s number plates – giving authorities an early warning of suspicious activity.

The cameras use optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates.

Superintendent Jim Gallen, of MoD Police, said: “It is about crime detection and crime prevention – stopping something before it happens.” The project is part of a national scheme, with similar cameras in place on the Erskine Bridge and M74.

The MoD – which is also funding the project – will work closely with Police Scotland, and will be able to feed any information collected into the force’s existing database.

An MoD spokesman added: “As you would expect, we continually review, revise and upgrade our security measures at HM Naval Base Clyde and these planning permissions are part of ongoing project work.” Military police officials insist the system is purely preventative measure, and has not been ordered in response to any specific terror threat.