Upbeat Boris hits the streets

The Tory candidate leafleted Tube and rail passengers as they arrived at London Bridge on their way to work. He then went home to Islington to cast his own ballot with wife Marina. Mr Johnson was upbeat about his chances of winning and ousting Ken Livingstone from City Hall.

"If you look at the reaction we've been getting on the streets and people's desire for new solutions you'd have to be optimistic," he said. "There's a fantastic job to be done if I'm lucky enough to be elected."

Tory activists in London have already embarked on a "dawn raid" - delivering hundreds of thousands of leaflets through people's letterboxes as they slept. There will be two more major mail shots through the day to encourage Londoners to vote.

Mr Johnson was visiting a series of polling stations across the capital throughout the day.

He added: "Over the last nine months I've travelled all over London, touring markets, mosques, synagogues, suburbs, hospitals and high streets. I've spoken to thousands of Londoners from all corners of this glorious city, and my observation has been that however different people are, their feelings about London are remarkably similar.

"Now, instead of simply hoping things will change, every Londoner has the opportunity to bring about a change for the better."