Gravesham had the highest turnout of leave voters than anywhere else in the county, with 65.4% of residents opting out of Europe.

While being predominantly for going it alone, Gravesend has an elevated population of European communities.

Delicatessens’, supermarkets and restaurants of European descent are commonplace in the town centre and their fate is now hanging in the balance.

Some business owners fear seeing an increase in prices and boarded up windows while others believe our doors have been opened to more trading opportunities.

John Ahmet is the Italian owner of Leonardo’s Sandwich Bar, on Windmill Street, and despite being proudly European, he decided to opt out.

His delicatessen offers authentic European goods and it’s red, white and green branding currently sits as a parallel to the Union Jacks and British bunting embellishing the High Street.

He said: “I think that most people like myself, who voted out, just got fed up with the influx of asylum seekers. They come here and they get the rights straight away, and what a lot of people who have been here for many years have never been had. That’s hard to accept.

“I’m feeling apprehensive, I think we all have to wait and see what it’s going to bring.

“There’s going to be a couple of years of transition, but who knows what is going to happen two, three or four years down the line.”

While confident his prices and the Italian- themed decor are fixed, not all of Gravesend’s communities are feeling as secure.

Mirek Blawski is an employee of Sklep Polski, which translates directly to Polish Shop in English.

Speaking from the supermarket in Queen Street, he said: “I can’t speak for all of us, but personally I don’t feel well about this.”

He thinks this could be the end of trade and friendships between Britain and European countries, making him reconsider his residency in the UK and moving elsewhere where he will feel more accepted.

“I feel, as a community, we have been rejected; it’s still fresh, but I think in the next couple of months this feeling will get much worse.

“I think a good few supermarkets will close because prices will go up and less people will be buying from us.”

While it is evident that support for the remain campaign does exist in Gravesend, it is a minority view. Only 34.6% of residents opted to stay in Europe.

Surinder Basra owns a great deal of property on Queen Street, home to three European supermarkets and an Italian restaurant.

He is thrilled with the results of the referendum despite the majority of his occupants not only selling European produce, but originating from Poland, Hungary and Turkey.

He said: “I’m glad we are out of it, and we can be governed by ourselves.

“I don’t think it will make much of a difference to these supermarkets because these countries will still be importing goods over to Britain, but maybe we can start importing things from other countries instead of being limited to Europe.

“It’s going to open more doors for us.”

Dennis Halberg, 54, co-owner of Gravesend's only music shop, Elephant Music, voted for Britain to remain in the EU. He suspects Brexit might make the shop a more expensive business venture.

"I am curious what kind of impact it will have, I think the prices of some of our products will go up because they are affected by the dollar rate," he said of his Harmer Road store.

"Speaking to one of our suppliers the other day, he felt that leaving the EU could impact the business because of where a lot of the products are from.

"If business was to go quiet for us I would say it was probably because of the referendum.

"Overall though I am sure that if we approach things positively and work hard, we will be alright."

The family who run 41-year-old toy shop Nuxley Toys on Milton Road were on the other side of the debate.

Jean Rose, 76, said: "The countries out in the EU are not going to stop selling stock to us because they need our money.

"I got the family to vote out because my husband and I are in our seventies now and we have to think of our children and grandchildren."

The notion that Britain is now more firmly in control of trade and policy has been repeated among leave campaigners following the result.

Bryan Sweetland, County Councillor for Gravesham Rural said: “It’s not going to happen overnight, probably not for a couple of years but I believe we are better off making our own decisions here in the UK and not have important decisions that affect us being taken more and more in Brussels.

“Of course there will be challenges but we are a large country with a growing economy and leaving the EU will open up many exciting opportunities to trade with other parts of the world as well as Europe.

“There is a lot of work for our government to do now and I think we all need to get behind this decision and ensure that Great Britain continues to be a great and safe place to live for the sake of children and future generations.”

Gareth Johnson, MP for Dartford described Britain’s departure from Europe and David Cameron’s departure from Downing Street as a ‘new era’.

He said:“Dartford voted overwhelmingly to leave the EU and I am proud to have supported this position too. We are today entering a new chapter but I feel strongly that leaving the EU will ultimately be a good thing for the UK.

“There will undoubtedly be difficult times ahead but it is essential we keep our nerve. Britain can stand proud today and look forward to a better future"- Gareth Johnson, MP

“We are strong enough to make a success of this new direction for our country and so we need to take this opportunity to move Britain forward.”

The Labour reaction in Gravesham however was much the same as it was at the top level of the party, with local chairman Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi expressing his disappointment at the outcome.

The former councillor and Mayor of Gravesham said that while the result was not a surprise, he is now fearful for the country’s future.

“Our country has made a decision and we have to respect the decision that has been made,” he said.

“It had been the case that for most of the campaign the polls thought Kent would vote leave, so it is not surprising in that sense, but overall I am genuinely fearful for the future of our country’s economy and unity.

“Now that we have voted to come out of the EU, there will be a move from certain people in Scotland and Northern Ireland — who mostly voted to stay — to break up the UK.

“Local impact will be dependent on what happens nationally — it was very sad to see the crash in the market and the pound plummeting this morning (Friday) and that will have an impact on all of us.

“We have to come together now to try and make sure we get the best possible results going forward in terms of how we secure our country’s future.”