EU referendum result: Wolverhampton votes LEAVE with massive majority

In total 73,798 Wulfrunians backed Brexit (62.6 per cent) compared to 44,138 voting Remain (37.4 per cent).

The result was expected for the city which is considered one of the more Eurosceptic areas in the country. But the margin of victory appeared to shock all who attended the count.

Turnout was 118,037 (67.5 per cent), while there were just 101 rejected ballot papers.

• More: Live coverage from the local counts in the West Midlands

• More: The national picture as Brexit surges to victory

Around 20 'Leave' campaigners gathered at Aldersley Leisure Village and screamed in delight as the result was read out shortly after 3am.

Robert Jones, from Warstones, said: "This is wonderful. It is an incredibly proud moment for the city.

"The community here has stood up and said 'this is what we believe and this is how we are going to vote no matter what Westminster say.'

"The West Midlands as a whole has done a very good job in making sure its opinion was heard.

"A lot of people are fed up with what they perceive as an extra layer of bureaucracy and extra layer of the elite in politics.

"All of the key issues have pointed to people wanting to take control back. People want the choice to make their own decisions."

Fellow 'Leave' campaigner, Giuliano Pisarski, added: "All the 'In' campaign did was insult Boris Johnson. It was all insults and scaremongering.

"The 'Out' campaign put an aspirational message forward and in the end that is clearly what people wanted in Wolverhampton."

Wolverhampton councillors present at the count, and who had supported a 'remain' vote, were left to reflect on a disappointing result.

Councillor Phil Bateman, said: "The result is there for all of us to see and now we need to listen to it. The people of Wolverhampton have made their views loud and clear.

"All the large metropolitan areas have shown they have major concerns.

"Everything seems so complicated at this moment. This is a time of uncertainty. Tomorrow we must sit down and candidly look at where we go now."

Councillor John Reynolds, added: "We were hoping it would be closer than that in the 'remain' camp.

"But the message really is one of uncertainty. We know there was a message about immigration but I feel there is also one about people's hopes in general.

"Perhaps people expressed that as a protest vote against the EU.

"There is a lot of confidence in Wolverhampton with things like JLR and i10 - people have got those opportunities. But there are on-going areas of concerns and areas where improvement is needed.

"At the end of the day, the bookies got it right on this one. It is going right down to the wire."

It was a well-oiled machine outside Aldersley Leisure Village as the ballot boxes began to arrive shortly after the 10pm voting deadline.

In total boxes were brought in from 130 polling stations with nearly all inside the counting hall by 11pm.

As national results started trickling through, there was excitement among small groups of supporters from both sides who had gathered in front of a TV monitor.

But even before the counting had begun, organisers and leading councillors were predicting a 'leave' victory in Wolverhampton based on the ballot papers being verified.

A study by YouGov conducted earlier this year found Wolverhampton to be the 46th most Eurosceptic of 188 local authority areas in England, Scotland and Wales.