48,367 votes have been cast, a turnout of 67% but once postal votes have been added the total turn-out is 70%. This is slightly up on the 68.7% turnout at the old Teignbridge seat in the 2005 election.

Cathy Ruelens, deputy acting returning officer, said it had been an 'event-free day', with no scenes such as those being reported elsewhere in the country of polling stations running out of ballot papers or not being able to cope with the queues.

When the announcement was made at 12.40am, two uniformed police officers, carrying stun guns, entered the Sports Hall, where the count it being held, but were not needed.

Separating the votes into the different parties has now begun, with a result expected sometime before 4am.

Overseeing the count is the acting returning officer, Nicola Bulbeck, Teignbridge Council's chief executive. There are eight supervisors and 64 counting assistants.

With the Conservatives out to win 116 seats for David Cameron to enter 10 Downing Street, the Newton Abbot Constituency is number 101 on the Tories hit list.

Back in 2005, Lib Dem Richard Younger-Ross had 6,215 votes to spare over Conservative Stanley Johnson in Teignbridge.