A man has been severely injured after being shot in the eye with a rubber bullet during the confrontation between police and voters over the Catalan independence referendum.

The Civil Guard opened fire on citizens trying to vote in the referendum, which Madrid deemed illegal, using rubber bullets — something the local Catalan police force banned in 2014.

Officers were seen beating and dragging people down the stairs of polling stations. At least 861 people were injured, according to the Catalan authorities.

The man was reportedly injured during a stand-off between police and voters outside the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona around 10:30am on Sunday.

He was taken to the Hospital de Sant Pau for surgery, El Periodico reported.

The use of rubber bullets by local police was banned in the region following a number of controversies surrounding their use by the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police force, after numerous reports of serious injuries.

In 2012, a local woman named Ester Quintana lost an eye after being shot with a rubber bullet during a strike. The local parliament passed a law in late 2013 which forbade the Mossos from using them from April 2014.

Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Show all 17 1 /17 Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man faces off Spanish Civil Guards outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police form a security cordon around the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police evict a young woman during clashes between people gathered outside the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Spanish Civil Guard officers break through a door at a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Spanish National Police clash with pro-referendum supporters in Barcelona on Sunday AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Crowds raise their arms up as police move in on members of the public gathered outside to prevent them from voting in the referendum at a polling station where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters People confront Spanish Civil Guard officers outside a polling station Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Three man hold each other as they try to block a Spanish police van from approaching a polling station AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A woman shows a ballot to a Spanish Civil Guard officer outside a polling station Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man wearing a shirt with an Estelada (Catalan separatist flag) and holding carnations faces off with a Spanish Civil Guard officer Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Police try to control the area as people attempt to cast their ballot at a polling station in Barcelona Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man is grabbed by officers as police move in on the crowds Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Two women argue with a Spanish National policeman during clashes between Catalan pro-independence people and police forces at the Sant Julia de Ramis sports centre in Girona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Sant Julia De Ramis in Spain Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Confrontation outside a polling station in Barcelona, where police have tried to stop people voting AFP/Getty Images Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A Spanish National Police officer aims a rubber-bullet rifle at pro-referendum supporters in Barcelona AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police clashed with voters as polls opened in Barcelona Sky News

But this ruling does not apply to the Civil Guard, which is a centralised police answerable to Madrid, who were brought in to stop the referendum.

A total of 861 people were reportedly injured in the violence which was condemned by Catalan separatists and the international community.

But Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy remained defiant saying there had been no independence referendum and the Catalan people had been tricked into taking part in an illegal action.

As the results of the ballot came in, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont declared that 90 per cent of the votes which were not seized had been in favour of independence.

He previously said if a simple majority of voters were in favour of independence he would announce Catalonia’s unilateral secession from Spain within 48 hours –prompting the biggest constitutional crisis in Spain since the restoration of democracy in the 1970s.

Mr Rajoy is reportedly considering whether to enact Article 155 of the Spanish constitution which enacts direct rule of Catalonia from Madrid.