How exit polls predicted disaster for Theresa May and shock hung Parliament with laser accuracy

showed the Conservatives thumping Labour by eight points with 44 per cent as the election entered its final hours.

And modelling by Lord Ashcroft suggested Tory support had solidified during the last few days - with figures estimating they would win a massive 373 seats if voters turned out and voted how they indicated.

They found if turnout was the same as it was in 2015, they would land 364 seats, and if everyone who voted in the referendum came to the polls, it would be 351 seats.

Meanwhile, a final ICM poll on Wednesday showed Theresa May was going into the election with a 12-point lead.

But last night's exit poll, commissioned by broadcasters BBC, Sky and ITV, accurately predicted Theresa May's majority would be wiped out by unexpected Tory losses.

Carried out by NOP/Ipsos MORI, it asked 30,450 people at 144 polling stations across the UK how they voted.

Usually, only 1,000 people are polled.

It said the Conservatives would be left with 314 seats - down from the 330 they won in 2015.

During the 2016 Brexit referendum, a YouGov poll published at 10pm on June 23 gave Remain a four point lead - an incorrect prediction which made many wary of last night's exit poll.

The BBC's David Dimbleby admitted last night the broadcasters faced being 'hung, drawn and quartered' if the prediction of Tory losses was wrong.

But as it stands, it's predicted the Tories will finish with 318 seats, suggesting it was in fact startlingly accurate.

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Some of the key details from the turbulent night so far:

• Hung parliament confirmed with Tories missing out on majority of 326 with polls predicting 318 seats - down from 330
• Labour forecast to take 262 - up from 232 in 2015. They are
• Theresa May faces mounting pressure – with the odds slashed on Boris Johnson to be the next PM
• Fears grow Brexit negotiations could be sunk if Mrs May does not secure a majority
• Lib Dem Nick Clegg loses Sheffield Hallam seat but Vince Cable regains Twickenham while leader Tim Farron clings on
• Home Secretary Amber Rudd holds on to Hastings seat by barely 300 votes
• Huge losses for SNP as former chief Alex Salmond and deputy leader Angus Robertson are both beaten by the Tories.
• Labour on march in London beating Tories to Battersea constituency but Tory Zac Goldsmith takes back Richmond with a majority of just 45
• Pound slides two per cent as exit poll predicts hung parliament
• Ukip voters desert party with vote share down by ten per cent
• Growing fears that Mrs May will have to call a second election later this year
• Sources claim Theresa May is not planning to resign - and instead "has every intention of forming a government with the DUP"
• Jeremy Corbyn claims he won the election after making significant gains across the country