THE POSSIBILITY of Berkshire leaving the UK following Friday's shock referendum result has been ruled out by a lecturer at the University of Reading.

Despite Berkshire voting in favour of remaining in the EU, Stuart Lakin, a lecturer in constitutional law, has quashed rumours that the county could secede from the UK and become its own sovereign state in a move dubbed 'Berksit'.

“No, it would not happen,” said Dr Lakin.

“We have a sovereign parliament in this country which has authority over the various constituencies.

“Parliament put forward this referendum on the basis that each member of a constituency has equal say on a national basis.”

Dr Lakin went on to say that if Berkshire managed to convincingly argue that its residents shared some inherently Berkshire-ish qualities, much as Scotland maintains some form of identity beyond Britishness, it could have the basis of a claim.

He said: “To my knowledge Berkshire has horse racing and lots of middle class people.

“I am not sure this is enough to claim a county wide identity.”

Dr Lakin's comments came in response to calls from Reading residents unhappy with the UK's decision to leave the EU, given that 58 per cent of the town opted to remain in.

Posting on Facebook on Friday afternoon, Martin Hall wrote: “Well done Reading and West Berks. Let's form a breakaway Berkshire republic and re-join the EU.”

Mr Hall's pleas were echoed by Eilish McDowell, who wrote: “Well done Reading I salute you. Can we not declare Reading neutral and remain in?”

As much as a proportion of Reading's 43,385 Remain voters were in favour of slicing up the Union, others looked to heal national divisions.

Sam Horn, a 23 year-old Vodafone employee from West Reading, said: "I would not be in favour of Berksit.

“In times of uncertainty it is important that we maintain some semblance of unity.

“Whilst I voted remain it is not the Brexit that I find most concerning but the clear societal divide that has emerged from it."