Brighton is an open and international city and must remain so say civic leaders

The city had the third highest Remain percentage (68.3 per cent) in England outside of London - with only Oxford and Cambridge above.

The council leader has warned we must "be different" and maintain links with Europe if we are to thrive and prosper.

Across the county, Sussex voted to Leave by the narrowest or margins with just 3,313 more voting for Brexit out of a total of 946,125.

There were surprising wins for Remain in Mid Sussex (53.1 per cent), where Sir Nicholas Soames was key, and Horsham (51.5 per cent).

But elsewhere there were heavy wins for Leave in Arun (62.5 per cent), Crawley (58.4 per cent) and Hastings (54.9 per cent).

But not for the first time, Brighton and Hove bucked the national trend with 100,648 voting to Remain compared to just 46,027.

Council leader Warren Morgan described the national result as troubling but said the city had to be different to maintain links with the continent.

He said: "We are still a European city and we always will be. I have always considered myself European. Brighton and Hove looks towards Europe - literally. We cannot escape our links with the continent. We are an open and international city and must make sure we remain so.

"We can only survive, thrive and prosper if we continue to attract businesses, students, trade and tourism from Europe.

"We cannot let the national result affect our relationship with Europe, we have to be different."

He pointed to key business links such as the American Express European headquarters and strong education links with language schools and the city's two universities.

Peter Kyle, MP for Hove, said that the council leader had "hit the nail on the head".

He said: "The job of making Brighton Brighton just got harder. We will now have to work harder than ever have to make sure that the way we like to do things isn’t hampered by the decision the country just took.

"We have a business sector which is more connected to the rest of the world and Europe than most and we have two universities which collaborate with institutions across Europe."

On social media in the city, their was largely shock and disappointment with many again calling for the People's Republic of Brighton and Hove.

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, said she was heartbroken by the result and said she feared it would be the poorer in the society who would be hit hardest by Brexit.

In Mid Sussex, Sir Nicholas Soames said he was devastated and said he feared for the future.

He added: "We live in a very difficult and uncertain world and I believe that this was a really bad time to unpick what has helped to secure for us great prosperity over the last 40 years and we must now, respecting the people’s wishes and judgment, do our very best to secure the best possible position for our people and our country.”

JUST LIKE IN 1066, THIS IS NOT THE END

WHEN the Saxons woke on October 15, 1066, very little was different.

The birds still sang, people went to work and the crops still needed tending to.

But just 24 hours earlier a bloody battle had taken place which would change the course of our country’s history.

It was a similar feeling yesterday morning.

We had just endured our own battle – but everything felt the same.

The shops were still open, the trains were still late and we had to go to work.

But just like that autumn day in 1066, our country had been changed for ever overnight.

When the polls closed at 10pm on Thursday, it looked as if it might be very different.

YouGov predicted a 52 to 48 result in favour of Remain and Nigel Farage all but conceded defeat.

But as we moved into the small hours, a different picture began to emerge.

The first results from the mainland – Newcastle and Sunderland – gave us a hint of what was to come.

Newcastle, which was expected to be Remain by some margin, only managed 50.7 per cent. Over the other side of the Tyne, the Leave vote was predicted to be strong.

But perhaps not the 61 per cent that David Dimbleby announced just after midnight.

In Sussex, results were still a way off but there were whispers of it being incredibly close as hundreds of tellers furiously flicked through the voting slips.

First to declare was Rother (58.5 per cent Leave) just after 3am followed by Eastbourne, where it was a similar outcome (57.3 per cent).

Leave had taken a huge lead in Sussex and that was only going to grow as the great and good of Crawley gathered on the badminton courts of the K2 Leisure Centre.

Shortly after 3.15am a cheer went up as they bagged their victory. But the 58.4 per cent was a far greater margin than anyone predicted.

Half an hour later it was the people of Hastings (54 per cent Leave) who had their say – in conflict with their MP Amber Rudd whose future in the newly positioned Government appears limited after recent clashes with Boris Johnson.

In Lewes, constituents also went against their MP, in this case Maria Caulfield, in backing Remain by 52.1 per cent.

But as the clock struck 4am, hope was fading for the Remain camp. Over in Brighton, ties were undone, heads had dropped and there were even tears.

The city was expected to return a huge Remain percentage but it was looking as if it would be too little too late.

Chichester was next (50.9 per cent Leave) with campaigners putting it down to an “arrogant disregard” from the Government towards ordinary voters.

Worthing (53 per cent Leave) and Adur (54.6 per cent Leave) voted as expected, by which point victory was almost secured.

While Farage, Boris and co were calling for the champagne, Cameron was putting pen to paper on his resignation speech.

In Brighton, Caroline Lucas spoke of her “heartbreak” at the impending result and warned it would be the poorest in society who would suffer.

But with the good ship Remain slowly sinking there was still time for a surprise or two with both Horsham (51.5 per cent) and Mid Sussex (53.1 per cent) voting to stay against the odds.

The latter thanks almost single handedly to Sir Nicholas Soames who had repeatedly told how his grandfather would have voted Remain.

Shortly before 6am, Arun and Brighton and Hove confirmed the inevitable and at 6.04am it was official.

The country had spoken and 51.9 per cent wanted out.

In Sussex, it ended up much closer with Leave taking it by just 50.17 per cent.

Remarkably, despite nearly a million casting their vote across the county there were just 3,313 in it.

Brighton and Hove, as ever, bucked the national trend.

And as the city woke up there was a sense of fear mixed with confusion.

Dr Xavier Nalletamby, from St Peter’s Medical Centre in Oxford Road, summed up the mood of many when he pinned a hand-written note to the front door.

It read: “To all our European patients, friends and colleagues, you will always be welcome here. The doctors and all the staff.”

The emotion was just as raw on the other side as Leave supporters celebrated well into the afternoon before their beds finally beckoned.

And so the dust has settled on what has been one of the most intense, brutal and savage political battles in British history.

But just as in 1066, this is not the end. It is merely the start.