Scotland is in the grip of an antidepressants ­crisis with more than a million adults now prescribed the pills, shocking figures show.

The SNP Government pledged to halt the annual rise in usage when it came to power in 2007.

However, numbers being prescribed the drugs have rocketed, reaching around 630,000 by 2010.

The number of people aged 18 and older on antidepressants this month reached a staggering 1,020,000 – almost a quarter of Scotland’s adult population.

The figures, from Public Health Scotland, show antidepressants were prescribed at a rate of 22,000 items per day last year, at a cost of £35.9 million.

Want to see more SNP fails? – Health Matters