VOTING finally got underway today amid tight security at Bolton polling stations.

Police and and electoral officials have implemented special Home Office guidelines designed to head off any IRA attempt to sabotage General Election polling day.

Security officials fear terrorists will try to ruin the election by causing mayhem with bomb threats or a "spectacular" - a large scale bombing or political assassination.

But locally the the voting got underway without a hitch, ending the longest election campaign since the war.

Bolton's senior election's officer John Fielding said: "I have not had any reports of anything going wrong and everything seems to be going to plan.

"We have been in consultation with the police and there are contingency plans in place just in case there is any disruption at polling stations or here at the town hall."

The warm sunny weather is expected to boost the number of voters turning out and party workers took to the streets of Bolton early this morning drumming up last minute support. The final clutch of national opinion polls are still predicting that Tony Blair will be moving into Downing Street with a majority of at least 83 MPs tomorrow. The polls put his lead over the Tories between 10 and 14pc and, according to another survey, half the nation plan to stay up late tonight to see if they are right.

By about 1am enough seats, 75, should have been declared to test the polls and by 2am pundits are expected to have enough information to make accurate predictions of the final outcome.

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