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The US election is upon us at last.

So stick the kettle on, switch on the telly and settle in for a long night on the telly to see who will be the next leader of the free world.

And follow our handy guide to the night below for how things are likely to pan out.

Be sure to keep our live blog open as you watch, plus you can follow us @mirrorpolitics on Twitter and like our Facebook page.

All UK times

10pm – Live coverage begins on Sky News.

10.40pm – Live US Election coverage begins on ITV1, anchored by News at Ten presenter Tom Bradby.

11pm – Polls close in the first of America's 50 states – the safe Republican seat of Indiana.

11.15pm – Live coverage begins on BBC1 , anchored by Daily Politics host Andrew Neil .

Midnight – Polls start to close in states across the east coast of America.

The biggest ones at this stage are crucial battlegrounds Florida, New Hampshire and possibly Virginia – although they may be so close that results are some hours away.

But expect US TV networks to start to call the safest states like Kentucky (a shoo-in for the Republicans) and Vermont (a dead cert for the Democrats).

12.30pm – Polls close in two more crucial Eastern battlegrounds – Ohio and North Carolina. Again, results may be an hour or two away yet.

But Trump needs both of these states to win, so if US networks call either for Hillary at this early stage she is in for a great night.

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1am – The night heats up as polls close in the big rust-belt states of Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Donald Trump really needs a breakthrough in one of these two Democrat areas if he is to win the White House.

If the US networks call either one for Trump he has a fighting chance - but if they are too close to call we could be in for a long night.

In 2008 networks handed Pennsylvania to Barack Obama the minute the polls closed, and his rival John McCain knew the game was up.

1.02am - In the biggest landslide election of recent times – Ronald Reagan's victory in 1984 – networks announced he was President at this point in the night.

It is unlikely to be so early this time round.

2am – Don't go to bed yet! Polls are now closing across the mid-West and there are some big battlegrounds out there too.

Ones to watch out for are Colorado and New Mexico – states which Donald Trump hopes to win back from the Democrats.

Voting also ends in Arizona, which Trump needs to hold.

2.48am – Another relatively early call came at this point in 1992, when Hillary Clinton 's husband Bill was named President with a stunning victory over incumbent George Bush snr.

3am – Voting closes in the last of the swing states, and as earlier battlegrounds also begin to be called we should have a good idea who is going to win the White House.

Polls close at this time in Nevada and Iowa – two Democrat states which Trump has targeted – and Utah, where Donald needs to hold off a strong challenge from third-party candidate Evan McMullin.

(Image: Getty)

4am – Polls close in the last big states along the west coast including California, Oregon and Washington state.

Unless the race is incredibly tight we can expect the networks to start calling the next President of the United States around now.

Barack Obama was named President at this time in 2008, and at 4.17am in 2012.

5am – Polls close in Hawaii, but by now all eyes should be on somebody making a victory speech.

6am – Polls close in Alaska. It is unlikely to make any difference.