Watch: Slideshow of pictures from Hartlepool's General Election count
The General Election is over and the people of Hartlepool have spoken emphatically.
Despite talk of the Conservatives regaining a seat they last held in 1964, Labour maintained its political grip on the town with new MP Mike Hill succeeding Iain Wright with an increased
majority of 7,650.
Our photographer was at the count at the Mill House Leisure Centre to capture all the emotion as the four candidates waited to learn their fate.