BBC Breakfast election coverage abruptly pulled off air as hosts step in

BBC Breakfast was brought to a sudden stop this morning as the programme faced technical issues amid the live election coverage. Hosts Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt were forced to step in quickly and issue an apology as the screen cut off completely.

The morning show had cut to Hannah, a reporter in , as she was speaking about the election in the west of England, where they had been voting for a new Mayor. But as she was speaking, the sound suddenly cut out mid-sentence, and then the screen flashed to an error, which read "no input signal". It was silent for a moment before Naga swooped into action and took over.

The host stepped in as she said: "Apologies there, Hannah Miller, our correspondent talking to us from Bristol. Technical problems. The gremlins do come in when we have a morning of breaking news and new results. But we will keep you up to date with the Labour holding in that area."

The presenters then carried on as normal as they cut to another clip of an interview with Reform UK's . He said: "It's been a huge night for Reform. One or two misses, but it has been a huge night for Reform."

It comes as millions of voters headed to the polls on Thursday for the . A total of 1,641 council seats are up for grabs across 23 local authorities in England, while four regional mayors and two local mayors will be elected. A by-election is also taking place to choose a new MP for Runcorn and Helsby.

Results are still being announced, with counting of the votes beginning at 10pm on Thursday. The final counts are expected from Kent and West Northamptonshire at around 7pm on Friday.

T believe they have made "big gains" in the Conservative heartlands of 'Middle England'. Labour, meanwhile, has admitted it was "always going to be a challenge", after numerous scandals and controversies during their first year of Government.

The , who are braced for a disastrous set of results, insisted they are trying to forge a new path under Kemi Badenoch, but said Sir could be under huge pressure if Labour does not make significant gains.