Thousands of people are gathering in London to celebrate New Year’s Eve at the capital’s annual firework spectacular.

Large crowds are expected around London Bridge as people ring in the new year though bad weather has forced the cancellation of events around the UK.

Revellers have gathered in anticipation of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay firework display as musicians hyped the crowd up for an evening of entertainment.

Thousands of people are at the sold out Princes Garden Street Party and Concert in the Gardens in what mark’s the festival’s 30th anniversary.

The event, organised by UniqueAssembly and City of Edinburgh Council, will be headlined by Pulp, who have not played in the city in 20 years.

Following their set, the fireworks will begin at midnight and will end at around 00.50am on Monday.

Weather warnings for wind and rain have been issued for parts of England and Wales for New Year’s Eve, with revellers urged to pack a rain jacket for the countdown.

Exposed coasts and hills on the southern coast of England and in South Wales will continue to be battered by strong winds, the Met Office said.

The highest recorded wind gusts so far on Sunday were 74mph on the Isle of Wight, 64mph at Mumbles near Swansea, and 62mph on the Isles of Scilly.

Wind warnings are in place until midnight on Sunday, with some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport possible, the forecaster said.

A yellow rain warning has been issued for an area of the North West which includes Manchester, Blackburn, Burnley and Blackpool from 6pm on Sunday until 6am on Monday, with 30-40mm possible locally.

It comes after wet weather and strong winds caused travel chaos across Britain in the past week.

Eurostar services have begun running as normal again after flooded tunnels brought 24 hours of disruption.

Millions of gallons of water have been pumped out since Friday and both tunnels are now operational again with speed restrictions lifted, engineers said.

A family who travelled to Brussels for a surprise trip for their Canadian relative have been “left in a state” and stranded in the city.

Luke Gibbs, 32, from Kenley, south London, travelled with his wife, Kyla, cousin Liam Eton and sister-in-law Brea Melanson, from Canada, and planned to arrive in London in time for New Year’s Eve celebrations on Sunday.

Mr Gibbs, a business development manager, paid £600 for a New Year’s Eve event in London Bridge, which is not refundable and now he cannot attend after his train from Brussels to St Pancras was cancelled.

He described the communication with Eurostar as “appalling”.

“I think the way (Eurostar) dealt with it is pretty appalling in terms of not trying to say ‘this is how you rebook it, we’ll help you out with expenses’,” Mr Gibbs told the PA news agency.

“They just said, ‘unfortunately, it’s cancelled, we’re sorry, get on with it’, which is shocking really.”