It has been a
night of wild celebrations and drunken mayhem across Britain as New
Year revellers welcomed 2016 by hugging police cars, rolling around in
the street and, in some cases, losing their trousers.
Millions
of party-goers packed out pubs and clubs, with some braving freezing
temperatures, while in the Welsh town of Aberystwyth one woman was seen
lying in the road as she and a friend waved goodbye to 2015.
Another was pictured wrapping her arms and legs around a police car.
Revellers
were also seen looking a little worse for wear in Swansea, vomiting
outside takeaways, being helped off the pavement and having to be
carried away as their trousers fell down.
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One man was also seen with his jeans part way down as he was detained by police.
In
London, a reveller was taken away on a stretcher while dozens more were
tended to by the emergency services and temporary treatment centres.
Some were handed blankets after braving temperatures below 0C in parts
of the country.
There
were a total of 48 arrests in the capital overnight, including four for
drug possession, three for carrying offensive or bladed weapons and
five for assaults on police officers.
Six people were also detained for public order offences, 11 for assault and one for sexual assault, the Met said.
West
Midlands Ambulance Service, which put a record number of crews on duty,
dealt with 1,629 emergency call-outs between 8pm on New Year's Eve and
4am on New Year's Day.
A
spokesman said a man aged in his late teens was successfully
resuscitated using a defibrillator after suffering a cardiac arrest
outside a nightclub in Broad Street, Birmingham, shortly after 1am.
Thousands of
people had gathered on the banks of the River Thames for a stunning
midnight display featuring around 12,000 fireworks.
But
it was what they left behind that was just as eye-opening, as the
clean-up operation began in earnest to rid the streets of rubbish.
As
revellers made their way home, one woman was seen carrying an
inflatable Zimmer frame, while others had to help up friends who had
fallen down.
The
scenes were similar to that witnessed on 'Black Eye Friday', known as
Britain's booziest night of the year. The final Friday before Christmas,
it saw Britain's towns and cities descend into chaos as binge-drinkers
hit the streets in their droves.
Police
cells in Plymouth were full by midnight as officers dealt with
incidents of violence, drunkenness and disorder on their busiest night
of the year. And medics in Wales were forced to open a makeshift
Accident and Emergency ward in the streets of Cardiff to deal with the
fall out.
On New
Year's Eve, those in the capital were watched over by every available
officer at the Metropolitan Police's disposal, including hundreds of
firearms personnel, as European cities tightened security over fears of a
Paris-style terror attack.
The
Met Police confirmed the occasion was one of two events, along with
Notting Hill Carnival, in which there was no holiday entitlement.
Force spokesman Superintendent Jo Edwards said the extra officers were for reassurance and the event was 'successful'.
She
said: 'Our officers worked alongside stewards to support their
operation and help people to get in and out of the event area safely and
efficiently.
'Although
the celebrations have drawn to a close, officers continue to work
through the night to facilitate the clean up operation and bring the
area back to normality in time for the New Year's Day parade.'
Today,
more than 8,500 performers representing 20 countries will take part in
the annual New Year's Day parade through London, again amid a large
security operation.
The event,
which includes marching bands, cheerleaders, clowns and acrobats, kicks
off in Piccadilly and finishes in Parliament Square, taking in Lower
Regent Street, Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall.
In Munich, German authorities declared a major terror alert over fears of an ISIS terror attack.
A
foreign intelligence service had warned that between five and seven
suicide bombers from the terror group had been planning on attacking the
southern German city.
Two
railway stations - Munich's main station and the Pasing station - were
evacuated after indications of a planned attack which would target
party-goers in the city.
A
police spokesperson said that they had ‘reliable information’ that a
group was planning to act as festivities were well under way on New
Year’s Eve.
‘Actual lead
that in #Munich a terror attack is planned. Please avoid crowd
gatherings as well as the central train station and the Pasing train
station,’ read the tweet.
Another tweet from the police read: ‘We note explicitly once again that we take the threat very seriously. Please remain alert.’
Across
Europe, capital cities were on high security alert, with Brussels and
Paris both scrapping fireworks for New Year's celebrations.
In
Berlin, the police presence was stepped up at the Brandenburg Gate,
where hundreds of thousands of people gathered for festivities. All
large bags and backpacks were banned from the site of the huge street
party.
Major
security operations involving thousands of police were in place in
other cities, including Sydney, Bangkok, Delhi and New York.
Belgian
police held a further six people suspected of plotting a New Year's Eve
attack in Brussels. One was also charged with offences linked to the
attacks on the French capital.
