Donald Trump has reportedly been nominated for the Noble Peace prize.

The Independent has reported that the US presidential hopeful has been named on a list of nominees for the prize alongside Pope Francis and an Isis rape survivor.

Kristian Berg Harpviken, Nobel watcher and director of Oslo's Peace Research Institute, told the paper that an anonymous politician had nominated Mr Trump for “his vigorous peace through strength ideology”.

Mr Harpviken also told Reuters that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has also been tipped for an award.

Thousands of people are eligible to submit nominations for the Peace Prize. Around 200 nominations are received each year.

Previous nominees include Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin.

Mr Trump has came under fire during his presidential campaign after calling for all Muslims to be banned from America.

Republican rival Jed Bush described Trump as 'unhinged' following the comments and claimed his plans were 'not serious'.

In December, the UK Government debated a petition calling for Mr Trump, who was stripped of his honourary degree from Robert Gordon University in December, to be banned from the UK.

Former First Minister Alex Salmond also engaged in a war of words with Mr Trump, calling for the US businessman to withdraw his involvement in Turnberry.

Social media users took to Twitter to express their shock at Mr Trump's nomination, with many assuming it 'must be a joke'.