EDINBURGH, Scotland (Reuters) - Scottish police arrested more than 300 anti-nuclear demonstrators outside the Faslane nuclear submarine base Monday after they blocked access in protest at Britain's nuclear arsenal. By mid-afternoon, police had led away 325 men and women from the gates of the Clydeside complex, which then started to return to normal after the mass arrests.

"We don't anticipate any more. The only people left are on the pavement and are not causing any obstruction," a Strathclyde police spokeswoman said.

James Bond star Sean Connery lent his support to the Trident Ploughshares group, which argues that the nuclear weapons aboard Britain's four Trident submarines are illegal because they cannot distinguish between military and civilian targets.

Even though the former 007 actor and Scottish nationalist should be familiar with that type of submarine -- having played a rogue Soviet submarine captain in the movie "Hunt for Red October" -- he failed to turn up in person.

"I cannot be with you in person because of filming commitments. But be assured that I am with you in spirit and give you best wishes for your demonstration and your just cause," Connery told former Scottish National Party head Alex Salmond by phone.

Among the 400-odd campaigners who did arrive for the sit-in outside the naval complex, and who were promptly arrested, were Labor member of parliament George Galloway and Tommy Sheridan, a member of the Scottish parliament.

Sheridan, firebrand leader of the Scottish Socialist party, has only just been released from a five-day jail term imposed for refusing to pay a fine after being arrested at a similar demonstration last year.

The campaigners, most of whom were happy to be hauled off by the hundreds of police officers present, said the largely good-natured crowds who turned out were proof their drive to stamp out nuclear weapons was gathering momentum.

"We had around 800 people -- that's twice as many as last year, and twice as many as the year before that," one demonstrator said.

Most of the arrests were for minor public order offences and included a large number of elderly churchgoers and ministers from a number of different religious denominations.

Officials at Faslane said the protest had caused them a headache although actual disruption was kept to a minimum.

"It was a major nuisance but we managed to keep a small flow of traffic going as well as bringing people in by boat. It wasn't a total blockade," a spokeswoman said.

Some protesters had to be cut down from large scaffolding 'tripods' where they had strapped themselves.

At a similar event last year, more than 180 people including nuns and Japanese monks, were arrested.