Replay the count and announcement of results in Barrow and South Lakeland

In Barrow , politicians crowded into Barrow’s iconic town hall to bear witness as history was made on Thursday night. Barrow voted to leave the European Union with a massive majority of 21,867 to 14,207 votes.

The turnout was recorded as one of the highest in memory as thousands of people came out in their droves to wave goodbye to Brussels.

As ballot papers for both sides of the argument began to stack up, no-one felt confident to call the result but Cllr David Pidduck, leader of Barrow Borough Council, was encouraged by the high turnout.

Speaking before the results, he said: "It's looking like a high turnout but whether that's because people want to remain or exit I'm not quite sure at the moment.

"I think the highest election turnout we've had was around 52 per cent but we've passed that."

Figures show Barrow had a turnout of 36,097, which was 67.86 per cent of the borough’s electorate. Apprehension grew as neither camp could predict the outcome but after a long wait, a small cheer erupted from the counters as Barrow voted to leave.

Colin Rudd, chairman of the UKiP party in Barrow, was delighted by the result.

He said: “I think it’s a very good result. It’s what we were hoping for all along.

“People were asked if they wanted to be governed by an unelected dictatorship and the people of Barrow said “no thank you” and for that we have thank them.”

Nigel Cecil, vice-chairman of the UKiP party, added: “This will change the political face of Barrow.”

Despite the elation of leave campaigners, many people across the area woke up yesterday morning dismayed by the outcome.

Councillor Anne Burns, vice-chairwoman of the Labour Party in Barrow, was expecting a disappointing result following a “nasty” campaign.

She said: “It’s not a surprise but I’m disappointed. It’s been a really nasty campaign and it has been an aggressive campaign and I think it’s disappointing.

“Our communities deserve better.”

Barrow Borough Councillor, Michael Cassells, also voiced his concerns saying he was “shocked” by some communities across Britain who voted to turn their backs on Europe. He said: "I always thought it would be close but what really shocked me was Sunderland.

"I have lived and worked in areas that has seen EU investment so to reject EU membership has really shocked me.”

Voters in South Lakeland were the only ones in Cumbria to back 'Remain' in what proved to be a tighter contest than expected locally.

A total of 34,531 people voted for the UK to remain in the European Union, against 30,800 who backed Brexit.

There were claps of applause and scenes of relief among the group of Stronger In count observers when the results were declared by counting officer Debbie Storr just after 3am at Kendal Leisure Centre.

However, those celebrations were rather subdued as results across the country came in during the night, showing expected Remain wins being smaller than predicted and some big Vote Leave triumphs.

Speaking after the declaration, Councillor Giles Archibald, leader of South Lakeland District Council, said: "I think we have had a good debate, a good discussion.

"Across parties we have worked together and the people [in South Lakeland] have spoken and they want to stay in the EU, albeit by a narrow majority.

"I think the focus now is to come together."

Mr Archibald, a member for Kendal Fell, told the Evening Mail he sensed during final rounds of canvassing many undecided voters in South Lakeland opted for Remain in the end, a big swing from five or so days previously.

Many commentators had been predicting a bigger margin of victory for the Remain camp in South Lakeland due to the popularity of Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron and the council being controlled by the Liberal Democrats, campaigners for Remain.

David Walker, Vote Leave and Ukip referendum agent, said the vote in South Lakeland, albeit a loss for the Brexit campaign, was better than hoped for them and proved the Remain vote was not strong enough in the areas it needed. This ultimately proved to be the case.

Mr Walker, who is from Rydal and also chairman of the Westmorland and Lonsdale Ukip branch, said: "I'm pleasantly surprised that the vote was as close as it was in a solid Lib Dem area.

"This proves that the various campaigns got their message through well and people now understand the EU a lot more than they previously did.

"I think the referendum may be something of a game changer in local politics. With the parliamentary boundary changes coming later this year it may be that the Lib Dem stronghold is no longer secure."

Samples by campaign count observers showed early on that the vote was going to be tight, with a sample of 322 votes on one table in a Broughton polling station count exactly split 161-161.

A total of 108 counters stayed up overnight to verify and collate the 65,375 completed ballots, with the local authority's polling stations spreading across Ulverston, Grange and Bowness.

The declaration at 3.08am was slightly earlier than expected at 3.30am, following a quicker verification process to match up numbers in the ballot box to numbers who voted.

There were a total of 44 rejected ballots, 30 due to being unmarked, 12 due to having both answers marked and four due to identifying the voter.

Speaking after the local results came in, Cllr Mark Wilson, Labour member on Cumbria County Council, South Lakeland District Council and Ulverston Town Council, said: "I'm pleased that the vote [in South Lakeland] has reflected that ambition."