Croydon goes to the polls today with the result of key marginal seat Croydon Central expected to send tremors far beyond its boundaries.

The fiercely contested seat, a vital battleground for Labour and the Conservatives nationally, remained on a knife-edge this morning ahead of polling stations opening at 7am.

The race between Conservative incumbent Gavin Barwell and Labour's Sarah Jones has been tipped to be one of the closest in the country.

In a visit to the borough last month Prime Minister David Cameron said Croydon Central would "determine the outcome of the election", admitting it "would be very difficult to form a government" without the seat.

IN DEPTH: Read our interviews with Labour's Sarah Jones and Conservative Gavin Barwell

Mrs Jones said she believed the momentum was with her campaign. She said: "We know that we’ve run a better campaign, that we’ve been more positive and that we’ve had more people. We know we’ve done what we can. I think we're going to win."

But Gavin Barwell, who won a 2,969-majority in 2010, said: "Everyone has said we don’t have a chance, we are going to lose. And I've always believed there was a good chance we could pull this off. 

"I’m not complacent but I think there’s a good chance we’re going to prove a lot of people wrong here."

Elsewhere in the borough, Chris Philp is expected to be elected in the Conservative stronghold of Croydon South after Richard Ottaway retired in March.

Eyes will also be on Labour's Croydon South candidate Emily Benn, the granddaughter of the party's stalwart Tony Benn.

Croydon North, where Labour's Steve Reed who commands a majority of 11,755, is also unlikely to be the scene of any shocks.

For all our General Election coverage visit www.croydonguardian.co.uk/generalelection2015