Outcome uncertain as votes cast in British election after weeks of intense campaigning
Polls open with neither Conservatives nor Labour appearing likely to win a majority, leaving voters in the dark about likely outcome
"It hasn't been this close in years, so obviously voting is very important," said Adam Banks, one of millions of voters for whom the uncertainty of British general election weighed heavily as voting continued overnight.
The 28-year-old cast his ballot before work in a north London school, one of thousands of venues transformed into makeshift polling stations. The party with the most seats will form a government, but at the end of an intense campaign, neither Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives nor opposition leader Ed Miliband's Labour party looked on course for an outright victory.
"It's been quite an exciting one. It's been a lot different from other elections we had because we don't know what the result is going to be," voter Josh Cook said at the north London school.
But for some, the lack of a certain outcome is troubling.
"I wouldn't say it's exciting - it's more unnerving," said Annette, a 59-year-old community worker voting in a south London park building, who declined to give her surname.