The first ballot boxes have started to arrive at Oxford Town Hall from the Oxford East constituency ready to be totted up by a team of 110 counters.

The ballot boxes, from Barton and Sandhills, will now be verified before counting begins, with the final result expected at around 2.30am.

Labour's Andrew Smith is hoping to hold on to his seat which he has held since 1987, although just 963 votes separated him and Liberal Democrat Steve Goddard in the 2005 election.

A surge in Lib Dem votes is expected after boundary changes in Oxford East giving thousands of first-time voters a pivotal role in the key marginal seat with the majority of Oxford's colleges now included in the constituency.