A FINAL DRIVE FOR THE LOCAL VOTE

A POLLING station in a car, nuns praying for the right result, dogs waiting patiently and a polka-dot cafe were among images captured on election day.

Voters cast their ballots across Britain as polling stations operated under strict coronavirus restrictions.

They opened at 7am for local council elections across England, as well as the London mayoral vote and the Hartlepool Parliamentary by-election.

In Oxford, Toby Porter was one of a dozen people who cast their ballot in a car boot after the church warden opening his polling station allegedly overslept.

But the building – Oxford Centre for Mission Studies – was open within 15 minutes.

Toby said: “We found it funny. Everyone was enjoying the novelty.”

Colourful

In Dulwich, south London, a group of nine dogs were spotted outside a polling station in a large show of support for the dogs-inpolling-stations trend.

Four-month-old puppy Bertie joined for the first time.

Mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan took his dog Luna to the polling station, where his wife cast her vote in the local and London mayoral elections. He had already voted by post.

And a group of five Sisters from the Carmelite Monastery in Dysart, Fife, cast their vote in the Scottish Parliamentary election.

The most colourful polling station was probably Sheffield’s Bank View Cafe.

Voters were encouraged to take their own pen or pencil and wear a face covering due to the pandemic.