CAROLINE Lucas was in good spirits as the Green candidate voted early on polling day for Britain's most important election in a generation today.

Mrs Lucas headed to her nearest polling station on the corner of SouthDown Avenue and Florence Road just before 10am.

As she left the polling station, Mrs Lucas said: "I'm not complacent but I'm very hopeful."

Minutes before she arrived she had tweeted: "It's more important than ever for strong Green voices in Parliament.

"If not now, when?"

The Argus:

At Mrs Lucas's polling station, volunteers were concerned about a low voter turnout. Voters face bad weather with torrential rain predicted across the county before the polls close at 10pm.

>> General election 2019: Live results and coverage on The Argus

An exit poll will give the first indication of the results and votes will then be counted overnight with the first results expected by 11pm and a clearer picture of who will be the next Prime Minister between 2am and 4am tomorrow.

A major YouGov poll on Tuesday predicted a 28-seat Tory majority – the largest since 1987 – but pollsters said the situation was so volatile that Britain could face another hung parliament.

In a final eve-of-poll rally in London, Tory leader Boris Johnson said there was a "very real risk of another hung parliament" – and the "nightmare" of a Jeremy Corbyn-led coalition that would follow.

He pleaded with voters to instead deliver a Conservative majority that could unite the country, "smash through the Parliamentary gridlock" and get Brexit done.

Mr Johnson even issued a direct appeal to Leave voters who had always voted Labour, saying: "Even if you have never voted Conservative before, this is your chance to be heard and I promise I will not let you down.

"A great future is there within our grasp, but I need your vote."