HUNDREDS of people were unable to vote at polling stations last night because they were still queuing when the ballot boxes closed at 10pm.

Voters in Hackney, east London, were turned away from one polling station after some had been forced to queue for more than an hourand- a-half, they said.

Police were called to a polling station in Lewisham, south London, where about 300 people had yet to vote by 10pm, Scotland Yard said.

There were reports of similar situations in other parts of the country, including Newcastle, Manchester and Sheffield.

In Hackney, where people were voting for their MP, councillors and the borough’s elected mayor, at least 150 people were still queuing when the polls closed, according to Andrew Boff, Conservative mayoral candidate.

He said the number who were not able to vote before the 10pm deadline could be double that figure, as some people had given up in the face of long queues – and that “it was getting ugly” after people were told they could not vote at the polling station, which had only three staff.

“At 10pm the ballot boxes were closed and people were told they would not have a vote,” he said. “People were very angry.”

Would-be voters staged a sit-in protest at the building after the ballot boxes closed and police had to be called.

Liz Veitch, the last person to vote at the polling station after waiting for more than an hour-and-a-half, said: “There are an awful lot of extremely angry people around here.

“It’s an absolute scandal. I can’t see how the results for Hackney can be counted as the results of the election.”

Voters were also turned away from polling stations in Sheffield Hallam, where Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was standing.

John Mothersole, returning officer for Sheffield, apologised to those who were unable to vote, saying: “We were faced with a difficult situation with the numbers of people, and a large amount of students turning up to vote without polling cards.”

Labour Party deputy leader Harriet Harman told Sky News that when she left her Camberwell and Peckham constituency, in London, people were still queuing up outside waiting to vote.

“It shows that there has been a high turn-out. We have got to make sure that all the votes are counted.”

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson acknowledged on BBC News that the situation could lead to legal challenges.

He said he was concerned about the failure of some people to get in and vote because traditionally Conservatives voted earlier than Labour supporters.

Tory party chairman Eric Pickles said: “Surely to goodness the returning officers could have just put the people in the polling station and continued.”

Shadow business secretary Kenneth Clarke said: “I feel sympathy for the people who were trying to do the thing they should do, go along and cast a vote.

“I trust somebody sorts out what on earth went wrong and made it so difficult for people to vote.”