THOUSANDS of people in Basingstoke have signed a petition calling for Theresa May to cancel Brexit by revoking Article 50.

The petition on the UK Government website titled 'Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU' has passed the 3m signatures mark.

In the Basingstoke constituency, 4.73 per cent of constituents (5,331) have signed the petition, according to a map created by the UK Government and Parliament Petitions partner Unboxed.

Meanwhile, 7.06 per cent of constituents in North East Hampshire, some 6,950, have put their name to the petition with 5,189 signatures coming from people with a North West Hampshire address, making up 5 per cent of the constituency's residents.*

Parliament's petitions committee have tweeted that the rate of signatures on the petition was "the highest the site has ever had to deal with", after the website crashed.

EU leaders in Brussels have reached an agreement on a plan to delay Brexit beyond March 29, next Friday.

The BBC has reported that Downing Street said the prime minister "has said many times she will not countenance revoking Article 50."

#RevokeArt50Now has been trending on Twitter and at one point the petitions committee said there were nearly 2,000 signatures per minute.

*Figures accurate as of 4.45pm on Friday, March 22.