Trafalgar Square and Embankment were both packed with party-goers waiting for the chimes of Big Ben to ring in 2008.

Roads were closed from 6pm and transport was free from 11:45pm until 4:30am today to help get everyone home, although trains were still brimming early this morning as passengers on South West Trains slept off their late nights.

As Big Ben stuck twelve the fireworks began and lasted just over 11 minutes – ending as the crowds sung Auld Lang Syne.

There were over 3,600 police officers on duty throughout the evening to reduce crime and direct crowds.

According to Superintendent Andy Tarrant the crowds have tripled in the last three years and the police have spent the last 12 months planning to keep the evening as safe and as crime-free as possible; “We deal with a range of different offences, ranging from drunkenness to theft.

If people do turn up intent on committing a crime, our message to them is that they will be arrested and dealt with appropriately.”

Dawn Reed, 49, from Doncaster, south Yorkshire, said she had visited London especially for the New Year celebrations.
“It was absolutely fantastic,” she said.
“I’d love to come back next year and see it all again, but I would like to get a little bit closer next time.”

More than half a million people are expected to brave the drizzle again today to watch the New Years Day parade in London today.