Not to be outdone by dogs, the #bikesatpollingstations brigade have been out, voting.

The country's network of polling stations has popped up in village halls and other community centres across England.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, PA

Image source, PA

Why are only some councils up for election?

What do councillors actually do and what am I voting for?

Confused about this and other key issues? These questions and many more are answered here by the BBC.

Image source, PA

Image source, PA

The Prime Minister has cast her vote. Here she is with husband Philip leaving the polling station at the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster.

There is also a by-election for one MP seat at Westminster on Thursday.

Constituents in West Tyrone are voting for a new MP after the resignation of Sinn Féin's Barry McElduff earlier this year.

The five candidates are:

• Órfhlaith Begley, Sinn Féin
• Thomas Buchanan, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
• Stephen Donnelly, Alliance
• Daniel McCrossan, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
• Chris Smyth, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)

This year sees pilot schemes - in Swindon, Woking, Watford, Gosport and Bromley - where voters will have to prove who they are.

Full details about this and what ID is required in each of the pilot areas are on the UK government website, external.

Panic not - everyone else will be able to vote as usual, and will not need to take their polling card or other form of identity with them.

With turn-out for local elections far lower than for general ones, you might be asking what do my councillors actually do? If I go and vote, who am I voting for?

Here's our guide to what's at stake today including a handy explainer from the BBC's Chris Mason.

Of course for some, today represents an important exercise in democracy.

For others, it's #dogsatpollingstations day. It's already trending as early voters multi-task a walk with a vote.

Here are a few of the most imploring so far....

When the results come in tonight and on Friday, interpreting them is not always straightforward.

Some councils are electing all their members, but in other areas it is only a proportion of seats.

As for working out which parties have performed best, it's worth bearing in mind that this time around, elections are weighted towards places where Labour is strong - they hold more than half the seats being contested.

In 2017, the elections happened predominantly in areas where the Conservatives dominated.

Here's our guide on how to tell who won.

Here's our guide to where elections are taking place, including a postcode search tool.

It has all the detail on today's poll - including why some councils have only a third of their seats open for election and where mayoral elections are happening.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the local and mayoral elections in England.

Across the country, 150 councils are electing new councillors, and there are six mayoral contests.

All the seats in all 32 London boroughs are being contested, as is every seat in the metropolitan districts of Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.

A third of seats are up in 30 other metropolitan districts - including Liverpool, Sheffield, Sunderland and Wigan.

There are 67 district council elections - with some or all of the seats up for grabs.

There are also elections for 17 unitary authorities.

Polling stations opened at 07:00 BST and they will close at 22:00 BST.

We'll be bringing you all the developments as millions of people go to the polls across much of England to elect their local councillors and in some cases their mayor in the 2018 elections. While waiting for all the excitement of polling day - 3 May - here's a link to our general politics page and here's a link to our guide to the elections.