BREXIT DAY: The reaction of the city's leave and remain campaigners

In the referendum 53.7 per cent of Worcester voters chose to leave the EU, while 46.3 per cent voted to remain, in a result that contributed to the shock leave win in the national poll. But that was only the start, as there have been years of turmoil ever since as campaigners from both sides continued their fight.

Worcestershire for Europe has issued a statement saying it would continue its work "campaigning for cooperation".

The statement said: "Our campaign to stop Brexit was unsuccessful but our quest for truth and justice continues. In Worcestershire all our MPs originally voted remain and have supported the withdrawal agreement knowingly full well Brexit leaves us poorer and weaker.

"We look forward to continuing our work campaigning for cooperation with our friends and neighbours in Europe.

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"The battle against Brexit was lost but our values were not. We would like to thank all members of the public who have supported us, or even disagreed politely on our street stalls in recent years . To our friends in the EU we say “thank you” and not “good bye” but “see you soon”."

Owen Cleary, the chairman of Worcester UKIP, said 'Brexit day' was the culmination of years of campaigning.

Asked if he thought he would ever see this moment, he replied: "It has been a long battle.

"I always thought it would happen. It was just when, and how long it would take.

"The negativity has come from the (referendum) losers. We have a history in this country that parliament democracy works on losers consent - they didn't get their way and there were division. If they had respected the result we would have got (to this point) sooner.

"It is a fantastic moment, it draws a line and the country can now move on. There will be a bright future. When our country is on the same page we can do great things."

Former Worcester MP Mike Foster, who has been a vocal campaigner to stay in the EU, said it was disappointing to be leaving.

Mr Foster said: "It has been the failure of leadership, including the remain campaign, David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Jo Swinson and Jeremy Corbyn.

"We have arrived at this point that could have been avoided.

"If we do not secure a deal that is as close to the EU as possible, young people's futures will be blighted. We have to secure a deal that protects jobs, the freedoms we have enjoyed, and that ensures businesses in places like Worcester don't suffer dire consequences.

"There have been divisions - the lesson to politicians is don't do referendums, they make the situation worse.

"You can't turn the clock back, we are leaving.

"I don't rule us out looking at the option of rejoining the EU - it wouldn't be overnight, maybe in 10 to 20 years time."

Lawson Cartwright, who stood for election as a UKIP candidate and who was heavily involved with the Leave campaign in the city in 2016, said he was planning to attended one of the parties celebrating Brexit.

"I thought we would have got to this day a long time ago, but politicians have been dragging their feet, trying to do everything they could to stop it," he said.

"They didn't want to respect the result, until they realised they had to.

"We are still not there though yet. If they give everything up in the trade talks, it will have been a complete waste of time. They should look after Great Britain for once.

"I just want to see it all sorted now."

Martin Potter, who stood as a Brexit Party candidate before standing as an independent, said: "There should have been an event to celebrate Brexit in Worcester.

"For me, I have been campaigning since the 1980s firstly against more integration and more recently to leave.

"Nobody thought five years ago we would be in this position and so I'm optimistic that the trade talks will come to some arrangement that helps us properly more forward."