Newcastle upon Tyne has declared the first mainland result in the EU referendum, with Remain taking a narrower lead than expected on 51 per cent compared to Leave's 49 per cent.
The area was expected by experts to be a strong win for Remain.
Voter turnout in Newcastle has been confirmed as 67.7 per cent, with 65,404 (50.7 per cent) votes for the UK to remain a member of the European Union against 63,598 (49.3 per cent) votes to leave.
The Newcastle result is one of the first to be announced, along with Orkney with 63 per cent of the vote for Remain and Gibraltar at 95.9 per cent for Remain.
"Newcastle result massively unsettled Remain party. They expected bigger margin of victory, tweeted ITV political editor Robert Peston.
The result from Newcastle was followed by a win for Leave in Sunderland, with more of the vote than expected at 61 per cent.
The value of Sterling dropped sharply by around 3 per cent on the markets in an instant reaction to the Sunderland result, as traders took on board the possibility of a strong result for Leave.
Nigel Farage described the Sunderland result as “fantastic'' and Newcastle as ”amazing'' for Leave, telling Sky News: “It's clearly very tight [but] I think Remain might just nick it.''
Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham, speaking at Manchester Town Hall, appealed to Labour voters who had voted to leave in Sunderland and Newcastle.
“My direct message to them and indeed other Labour voters across the country who have voted to leave is we hear you,” he said.
“We understand what you are saying. This referendum can't mark the end of the process.”
