Residents take to the polls to choose their councillors at the town hall and the Mayor of Greater Manchester today (May 2).

All of the polling stations across the area are open from now until 10pm in both the local elections and the mayoral elections.

In the local elections, a third of the seats at Trafford Council are available as opposed to all the seats last year. The all-out was a result of alterations to the boundaries between wards.

In the mayoral elections, Labour Mayor Andy Burnham is to take on Laura Evans (CON), Jake Austin (LIB), Hannah Spencer (GRN), Dan Barker (REF) and Nick Buckley (IND).

ALSO READ: All the candidates in the Trafford Council local elections.

Residents need a valid Voter ID such as a licence or a passport or, in the absence of a valid Voter ID, a valid Voter Authority Certificate. All of the information is on their polling cards.

The results are at Old Trafford cricket ground on Friday afternoon in the local elections and at Manchester Central convention complex on Saturday afternoon in the mayoral elections.

ALSO READ: The wards to watch in the Trafford Council local elections.

Eamonn Boylan, the returning officer for the Greater Manchested Combined Authority, said: "Voters across Greater Manchester have an important decision to make. Who do you want to represent you as the Mayor of Greater Manchester?

"We want to remind residents across Greater Manchester to check the details of their polling stations and to remember to take an accepted form of Voter ID with them when they go to vote. Staff are working across our city-region to make election day a smooth experience and to help residents to have their say on who makes the big decisions and sets the priorities for Greater Manchester."

For information go to trafford.gov.uk/elections. 

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.