With a voice trembling with emotion, Mr Cameron announced he was standing down, before adding: "I will do everything I can in future to help this great country succeed."
"I think the country requires fresh leadership. I do not think I can be the captain to take the country to its next destination."
David Cameron's voice broke as he finished his speech, watched on by his wife Samantha.
David Cameron delivers a speech as his wife Samantha looks onCredit: Xinhua / Barcroft Images
It followed a turbulent night with Remain campaigners quietly confident until the early hours when results from Newcastle and Sunderland showed better than expected returns for the Brexit camp.
A surprise victory for a Brexit in Swansea, which was expected to vote to Remain, did little to dampen concerns despite Scotland overwhelmingly backing staying in the Union.
Other votes in Wales began to show a trend towards a surprise Leave vote, particularly in deprived communities.
Leave passed the finishing post just after 6am, as it became clear that nothing could swing the vote back in favour of the Remain campaign.
Nicola Sturgeon has thrown the future of the United Kingdom into doubt by saying a second independence referendum is “highly likely” in the next two-and-a-half years following UK’svote to leave the EU.r
The Scottish First Minister claimed in 2014, before Scotland voted to stay in the Union, that it was a once in a lifetime event, but claimed following the shock Brexit vote that it could happen again by the end of 2018, before the UK leaves Europe.
Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness has also called for a referendum on a united Ireland, after the UK voted to leave the European Union .
Meanwhile on the market, the FTSE 250 index has plunged a whopping 11.7pc. The index of so-called mid-cap companies had dropped an astonishing 2,017 points to 15,309 in the first few minutes of trading.
