Natasha Turney
BBC Points West

Heavy rain apparently forced some voters in part of the Brigg and Goole constituency to cast their ballot in the back of a car.

The rain meant the roof of a mobile office being used for voting started to sag and leak.

With 90 minutes to go staff took the ballot outside to their car boot where people continued to cast votes until the polls closed

We've been focusing on the local picture so far, but here's a quick look at what's been happening nationally.

A short time ago:

• Exit polls suggest the Conservatives will win an overall majority of 86
• 11 seats have been declared so far - nine Labour and two Conservative

• Conservatives gain Blyth Valley from Labour

Richard Madden
BBC Radio Lincolnshire

A general election tends to bring out a few candidates who aren't quite what you expect.

No more so than Monster Raving Loony Party candidate the Iconic Arty Pole who has just arrived at the Louth and Horncastle count.

He tells me the feeling is good in the camp and has high hopes of battling to third place.

The rain hasn't stopped people in Lincoln turning out to cast their votes.

This was the scene at a polling station on Carholme Road earlier this evening:

Katy Austin
BBC Look North

This is the latest scene in Lincoln as the counting gets underway at the Yarborough Leisure Centre.

According to the BBC's exit poll the Lincoln constituency is likely to turn from red to blue with the Conservatives expected to win.

Sharon Edwards
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a true blue stomping ground with six of the seven seats taken by Conservative candidates in 2017 and none with a majority of less than 16,000.

But the Lincoln seat is a different matter.

It went from Labour to Conservative in 2010 and back to Labour in 2017.

Labour’s Karen Lee (pictured below) is defending a slender lead of just 1,538, so, in theory it would only take 770 people to change their mind to see it swing again and return Tory candidate Karl McCartney to his former seat.

Image source, UK Parliament

In an intriguing twist, earlier this week Brexit Party candidate, Reece Wilkes, announced during a BBC Radio Lincolnshire event that he wanted his supporters to back the Conservatives instead of voting for him.

However, his name remains on the ballot paper so it’s still possible the Brexit vote could be split in the constituency.

Lincoln was a leave voting area, though estimates suggest not as overwhelmingly as surrounding constituencies, and I’ve spoken to Labour supporters who are threatening not to vote for the party out of anger at its stance on Brexit.

Away from Brexit, the NHS is a key issue across the region, together with associated issues such as mental health provision and rough sleeping.

And Lincolnshire’s hospitals are repeatedly hitting the headlines. A fortnight ago there were photos of queening ambulances outside the A&E at Lincoln County Hospital while it’s now more than three years since the A&E in Grantham was closed overnight.

Whatever the issue local people seem intent to have their say, with a 2.28% rise in voter registration on 2017.

Who those extra votes will help, however, we will have to wait to find out.

The first results of the night are in nationally.

Image source, PA Media

Newcastle Central was the first to declare at 23.27 with Houghton and Sunderland Central two minutes later at 23.29. Both constituencies were held by Labour.

The first Conservative gain of the night came three minutes later in Blyth Valley, with Tory candidate Ian Levy taking the seat by 712.

Richard Madden
BBC Radio Lincolnshire

Former Preston North MP Sir Robert Atkins is at the count in Louth to support his daughter Victoria who is looking to retain her seat.

The conservative candidate for Louth & Horncastle is already sitting on a 19,641 majority from 2017 and will be further buoyed by the exit polls:

The Conservatives are forecast to have a majority in Parliament, according to an exit poll published as voting in the 2019 general election ends.

The exit poll, carried out by Ipsos MORI for the BBC, ITV News and Sky News, suggests the Tories may win 368 seats and Labour 191.

The SNP is forecast to win 55 seats, the Liberal Democrats 13, Plaid Cymru three and the Green Party one. The Brexit Party is not forecast to win any seats,

Follow the link hereand enter your postcode to find out what the exit poll currently forecasts for your constituency.

This may change as results come in and the forecast is updated

Here are pictures from South Holland and Grantham below showing the counters starting on their night's work.

Alex Rhodes
BBC Local Live, Lincolnshire

It'll be a long night for candidates at counts.

But if you're here for the long haul, you'd better play by the rules.

As TV crews were setting up at the count in Lincoln, here's the serene scene they snapped.

It'll be a lot busier later!

The ballot papers have been collected, they're transported to a local lesiure centre or civic building... but what happens next?

Image source, Getty Images

Find out out what the people sitting in rows under bright strip lights in schools, town halls and sports centres are up to and how the night will work for them here.

What is the exit poll?

The exit poll is a survey of thousands of voters just after they have cast their ballot. It covers England, Scotland and Wales but not Northern Ireland, where a different set of parties dominate politics.

Image source, IPSOS MORI

How does it work?

The exit poll is based on 144 constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales. The constituencies are chosen to be demographically representative of the country, balanced between rural and urban seats, and weighted slightly in favour of marginal areas.

Exit pollsters base themselves at a selected polling station in a chosen constituency. Voters emerging from the polling station are waylaid at regular intervals - every 10th voter, for example - by these fieldworkers, employed by polling specialists Ipsos Mori. They are given a replica ballot paper and asked to fill it in without anyone watching. They then drop the replica paper into a box that will be opened later.

Are they accurate?

It has been becoming more accurate as the methodology improves. The rough rule of thumb is an exit poll that comes within 15 seats of the final outcome is considered accurate, Prof Fisher says.

The 2015 exit poll was more accurate than the opinion polls during the campaign but did not predict a Conservative majority.

In 2017, the first take of the exit poll correctly predicted the Conservatives would be the largest party,, externalbut stopped short of saying there would be a hung Parliament.

Find out more about the exit poll here.

The Conservatives are set to win an overall majority of 86 in the general election, according to an exit poll for the BBC, ITV and Sky News.

The survey taken at UK polling stations suggests the Tories will get 368 MPs - 50 more than at the 2017 election - when all the results have been counted.

Labour would get 191, the Lib Dems 13, the Brexit Party none and the SNP 55.

The Green Party will still have one MP and Plaid Cymru will lose one seat for a total of three, the survey suggests.

The first general election results are due before midnight, with the final total expected to be known by Friday lunchtime.

Read more here.