LIVE: EU Referendum count special from South Somerset

KEEP up-to-date with the goings-on from the count in the European Union Referendum in South Somerset.

03.09am: Leave win in South Somerset with 56,940 votes. Remain gained 42,527 votes. A total of 99,534 votes were cast.

02.57am: The referendum agents here in South Somerset have been called forward by the returning officer Ian Clarke. A declaration here in South Somerset is imminent.

02.55am: Still waiting for the declaration here in South Somerset - but it is looking like a Leave victory in this part of the UK.

02.51am: The counting is all finished here. Just waiting for the declaration to be made in South Somerset.

02.44am: The last few votes are being counted here in South Somerset. Once everything has been detailed etc, we should be getting a result by around 3am. And it looks as if the Leave campaigners have won - thee doesn't seem to be too many smiles on the faces of the Remain supporters. But who knows?

02.21am: We are now onto the fourth and final batch of ballot papers to be counted here in South Somerset.

02.20am: Returning officer Ian Clarke, for South Somerset, caused stunned silence among counting staff when he said that the third batch of ballot papers had to be recounted. As you could hear a pin drop of disappointment he then said: “Only joking.” The returning officer pulled a funny!

01.49am: We are about halfway through the counting of votes here at South Somerset District Council for the South Somerset part of the EU Referendum. We are now expecting a possible 2.45am declaration here in Yeovil.

01.22am: A polling expert has told the BBC that they think the winning post in the EU Referendum will be a whopping 16,410,000 votes either for Remain or Leave. It currently stands at 370,404 for Leave and 344,535 – so a long, long, long way to go before either camp can start celebrating.

01.05am: Photo - Above: Remain supporters Cllr Peter Seib (yellow tie) and Daisy Benson (background) look on as the counting continues here at South Somerset District Council.

01.01am: It has all gone rather hushed here in the council chamber at South Somerset District as the counting staff concentrate on counting those all important votes.,

12.44am: The official count of the votes in South Somerset is now underway here in Yeovil.

12.43am: The verification of results has been made. A total of 99,535 votes have been cast in South Somerset in the EU Referendum – 78.69 per cent of the 126,495 electorate.

12.40am: The electorate in South Somerset stands at 126,474 out of a population of 161,243 covering 95,906 hectares – one of the largest district council areas in England.

There have been 150 polling stations used in South Somerset for the EU Referendum – manned by 310 polling station staff.

There are now more than 100 count staff here at South Somerset District Council’s headquarters in Brympton Way, Yeovil.

12.31am: Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh has told us he is confident of a Leave victory here in South Somerset.

12.30am: Word on the street - or should it be council chamber - among the campaign supporters who have been watching the verification of results is that it could, and we stress the word "could", be a Leave vote here in South Somerset. But remember - we haven't started the actual counting of votes here in Yeovil yet.

12.25am: A bit of information for your perusal about the process involved in the verification of ballot papers.

As the ballot boxes are brought in, the seals put on at the polling stations to protect the contents are removed and they are taken to the counting teams.

The ballot papers are counted face up to check the number of ballot papers as counted and correspond with what the polling station staff say should be inside.

Once a ballot box has been checked, the ballot papers will be placed into a coloured coded containers – sat here at South Somerset District Council’s canteen area – in the same way as the postal votes which were verified as soon as the polls closed at 10pm.

Once the verification stage has been completed and the figures checked and recorded, the count proper can start.

12.07am: Photo - Above: The verification of ballot papers continues here at South Somerset District Council's offices in Yeovil. 

12.03am – Friday, June 24, 2016: The BBC reports that former Yeovil MP, Paddy Ashdown, who has been a key figure in the Remain campaign, has said that he is not going to make any prediction on the outcome of the EU Referendum. Having said he would “eat my hat” in the 2015 General Election result exit poll, which said the LibDems would be down to ten MPs, proved right. Sensible move Paddy!

Midnight: Among those here in Yeovil for the South Somerset count are Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh who has been a big supporter of the Leave campaign.

11.50pm: A small army of supporters from the Remain and Leave camps are at the count keeping a watchful eye as the verification of ballot papers is made.

11.40pm: The final ballot boxes have arrived at South Somerset District Council’s offices.

10.15pm: The ballot boxes from around the district begin to arrive at South Somerset District Council’s headquarters in Brympton Way, Yeovil, as election staff start to verify the ballot papers.

10pm: Voting has finished and the polls have closed.

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