When will the result for the EU referendum be announced?

We expect it to be a long night in the United Kingdom later as the polling stations close on Britain's colossal referendum to decide whether to Leave the European Union or remain in the bloc.

Votes will be counted by local authorities in each area and results will be announced through Thursday night and the wee hours of Friday.

The ballots will be then passed to the central counting station in Manchester where it is hoped the final result will become clear as Britons wake up tomorrow morning.

There will be no exit polls, as there are in most British elections, so the result may well be a mystery until a late stage. The 382 local counting areas vary hugely in size, so results from many of the smaller ones are expected earlier in the night.

Turnout could well be a huge factor in the outcome, as parts of England have experienced flooding, and a high turnout is expected to be a good sign for the Remain camp.

Here's a schedule of how things will develop:

7 a.m. Polling stations open

10 p.m. Polling stations close

11:30 p.m. First announcements on voter turnout

12:30 a.m. Results expected for first counting areas, such as Newcastle and Sunderland

3-4 a.m. Results from half of the counting areas are in

Around 5 a.m.About 80% of counting areas have reported results, a likely winner to be estimated

7 a.m. All votes are likely to have been counted and the official result is expected shortly after.

The final result will be announced by chairwoman of the Electoral Commission and the referendum’s chief counting officer, Jenny Watson, at Manchester Town Hall once all the votes are counted.

Although there are no exit polls, various hedge funds and investment banks have commissioned surveys to give themselves a better idea of which way the outcome will go, so watching big bets in the currency markets might be the best way of reading the runes.