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Londoners on social media are desperately calling for the city to break away from Britain after the rest of England backed Brexit.

The capital bucked the national trend by becoming the only region across England and Wales to vote in favour of remaining in the European Union yesterday.

The city overwhelmingly backed Remain, with the pro-EU camp winning 2,263,519 votes compared with 1,513,232 in favour of leaving the bloc.

And disappointed Londoners are now venting their frustrations on social media with pleas to form an independent city state and stay in the EU.

A petition calling for London mayor Sadiq Khan to declare the city independent from the UK has also sprung up online.

Richard Crowest echoed the thoughts of many, tweeting: "London, of course, voted overwhelmingly to stay. So, the campaign starts here. Independence for London within the EU!"

Fearghal Kelly said: "Currently wishing London was surrounded by water #IndependenceForLondon."

Bill Tribble ‏wrote: "Sadiq Khan: Declare London independent from the UK and apply to join the EU."

"The campaign starts here - make London independent. Lets break away and float into the channel," added Tim Bradbeer, while Matt Wall posted: "60/40 for remain in London, about 60/40 for leave in the rest of the country. Can we declare London independent?"

A petition on Change.org started by James O'Malley states: "London is an international city, and we want to remain at the heart of Europe.

Leave wins EU referendum - in pictures 23 show all Leave wins EU referendum - in pictures 1/23 David Cameron announces his resignation outside Number 10 Downing Street Stefan Wermuth/Reuters 2/23 David and Samantha Cameron outside Downing Street as the PM announces his decision to stand down Stefan Wermuth/Reuters 3/23 Boris Johnson leaves home following the stunning EU referendum result Lucy Young 4/23 A triumphant Nigel Farage near the Houses of Parliament Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images 5/23 Jeremy Corbyn MP, leader of the Labour Party, is followed by journalists as he walks towards the Houses of Parliament Rob Stothard/Getty Images 6/23 London Mayor Sadiq Khan speaks to the media after Britain voted for Brexit Matt Writle 7/23 Leave supporters cheer results at a Leave.eu party after polling stations closed in the Referendum on the European Union in London Toby Melville/Reuters 8/23 Supporters of the Stronger In campaign react after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall Rob Stothard/PA 9/23 Vote LEAVE supporter Christine Forrester celebrates with others outside Vote Leave HQ Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images 10/23 Supporters of the Stronger In campaign look dejected as results come in Rob Stothard/AFP/Getty Images 11/23 The Houses of Parliament as dawn breaks on London after the vote Rob Stothard/Getty Images 12/23 Stronger in campaigners look dejected after the result 13/23 Leave supporters celebrate opposite the Houses of Parliament in London Anthony Devlin/PA 14/23 Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home this morning Rob Stothard/Getty Images 15/23 A man reacts to a vote count results screen at an 'Leave.EU Referendum Party' in London 16/23 Supporters of the Stronger In campaign react after hearing results in the EU referendum at the Royal Festival Hall Rob Stothard/PA 17/23 UKIP Leader Nigel Farage at the Leave.EU party in London as he claimed victory Stefan Rousseau/PA 18/23 A London taxi driver holds a Union flag, as he celebrates following the result of the EU referendum Toby Melville 19/23 Traders react to the fast moving Euro results at ETX Capital in the City of London this morning Chris Gorman/Evening Standard 20/23 People gathered in The Churchill Tavern, a British themed bar, react as the BBC predicts Briatin will leave the European Union, in the Manhattan borough of New York Andrew Kelly/Reuters 21/23 Traders monitor computer screens with the day's exchange rate at a foreign exchange brokerage at a securities firm in Tokyo Eugene Hoshiko/AP 22/23 Conservative MP Nigel Evans (left) and UKIP's Paul Nuttall, members of the Vote Leave campaign, celebrate at Manchester Town Hall where the national result in the UK referendum will be declared later Peter Byrne/PA 23/23 Traders react to the fast moving Euro results at ETX Capital in the City of London this morning Chris Gorman/Evening Standard 1/23 David Cameron announces his resignation outside Number 10 Downing Street Stefan Wermuth/Reuters 2/23 David and Samantha Cameron outside Downing Street as the PM announces his decision to stand down Stefan Wermuth/Reuters 3/23 Boris Johnson leaves home following the stunning EU referendum result Lucy Young 4/23 A triumphant Nigel Farage near the Houses of Parliament Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images 5/23 Jeremy Corbyn MP, leader of the Labour Party, is followed by journalists as he walks towards the Houses of Parliament Rob Stothard/Getty Images 6/23 London Mayor Sadiq Khan speaks to the media after Britain voted for Brexit Matt Writle 7/23 Leave supporters cheer results at a Leave.eu party after polling stations closed in the Referendum on the European Union in London Toby Melville/Reuters 8/23 Supporters of the Stronger In campaign react after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall Rob Stothard/PA 9/23 Vote LEAVE supporter Christine Forrester celebrates with others outside Vote Leave HQ Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images 10/23 Supporters of the Stronger In campaign look dejected as results come in Rob Stothard/AFP/Getty Images 11/23 The Houses of Parliament as dawn breaks on London after the vote Rob Stothard/Getty Images 12/23 Stronger in campaigners look dejected after the result 13/23 Leave supporters celebrate opposite the Houses of Parliament in London Anthony Devlin/PA 14/23 Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home this morning Rob Stothard/Getty Images 15/23 A man reacts to a vote count results screen at an 'Leave.EU Referendum Party' in London 16/23 Supporters of the Stronger In campaign react after hearing results in the EU referendum at the Royal Festival Hall Rob Stothard/PA 17/23 UKIP Leader Nigel Farage at the Leave.EU party in London as he claimed victory Stefan Rousseau/PA 18/23 A London taxi driver holds a Union flag, as he celebrates following the result of the EU referendum Toby Melville 19/23 Traders react to the fast moving Euro results at ETX Capital in the City of London this morning Chris Gorman/Evening Standard 20/23 People gathered in The Churchill Tavern, a British themed bar, react as the BBC predicts Briatin will leave the European Union, in the Manhattan borough of New York Andrew Kelly/Reuters 21/23 Traders monitor computer screens with the day's exchange rate at a foreign exchange brokerage at a securities firm in Tokyo Eugene Hoshiko/AP 22/23 Conservative MP Nigel Evans (left) and UKIP's Paul Nuttall, members of the Vote Leave campaign, celebrate at Manchester Town Hall where the national result in the UK referendum will be declared later Peter Byrne/PA 23/23 Traders react to the fast moving Euro results at ETX Capital in the City of London this morning Chris Gorman/Evening Standard

"Let's face it - the rest of the country disagrees. So rather than passive aggressively vote against each other at every election, let's make the divorce official and move in with our friends on the continent."

The appeal comes as the referendum result reignites the Scottish independence debate, after every region north of the border also backed Remain.

Within London, 28 boroughs voted in favour of remaning, while five followed the rest of England in backing Brexit.