Crowds brave damp weather to see in 2013

Hundreds of thousands of people lined the Thames in London to watch the fireworks display.

Tens of thousands of people descended on the streets of Edinburgh for the world-famous Hogmanay celebrations.

A spectacular fireworks display in Northern Ireland marked the start of the Derry-Londonderry 2013 City of Culture year.

Earlier downpours dried up over much of the country in time for the celebrations - although rain continued in Scotland, Northern Ireland and eastern England.

Overnight, much of central London is closed to traffic, but the Tube will run all night and most public transport will be free until 04:30 GMT.

Mayor Boris Johnson said the fireworks would round off a year that "glimmered with excitement and enthusiasm".

In Edinburgh, Scottish rock band Simple Minds headlined the Concert in the Gardens, where they were joined by The View and Bwani Junction against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.

In other developments:

Mobile networks are expecting the "busiest ever" night of texts and calls as people see in the New Year

Flooding has forced Arriva Trains Wales to cancel services in Powys and Carmarthenshire

Cheltenham Racecourse has cancelled its New Year's Day meeting after heavy rain left the track waterlogged

Mobile flood barriers have been erected in towns including Ironbridge in Shropshire, Bewdley, Shrewsbury and Oxford.

On Exmoor, in Somerset, one of the region's oldest bridges, Exmoor's Tarr Steps, has been swept away by the swollen River Barle

Buses continue to replace trains between Liskeard and Looe in Cornwall, and the line is not expected to reopen until New Year's Day at the earliest, National Rail said. Services also continue to be disrupted between Exeter and Exmouth; and Exeter and Barnstaple; but the line from Exeter to Crediton expected to reopen later

After days of flooding that brought parts of the UK to a standstill, river and groundwater levels are still high in many areas and there is a continued risk of localised flooding.

The Environment Agency said: "Large rivers that respond slowly to rainfall, including the Thames, Trent and Severn, will continue rising through the next couple of days and high groundwater levels in southern England will continue to pose a risk to communities, particularly in Dorset."People are urged to keep safe while they celebrate the New Year by keeping up to date with the latest flood warnings... We are also reminding people to stay away from flood water and not to drive through swollen rivers."

There are currently more than 90 flood warnings and about 192 flood alerts in force in England and Wales, with 9 warnings and 7 alerts in Scotland.

About 540 properties had flooded since 19 December, while flood defences had protected more than 21,600 properties, it said.

It said it had over 800 staff working during the festive period shoring up flood defences, clearing blockages from watercourses, monitoring river levels closely and installing temporary flood defences.

Met Office figures show that 2012 will go down as one of the wettest years in the UK since records began in 1910, and it could yet be the wettest.

On Friday, the Met Office said 46mm (2in) of rain was needed to fall before 31 December to break the record for the UK, with 1,291.2mm (50in) having been recorded between 1 January and 26 December.

Confirmation is expected later this week.

A new record has already been set for England, with 1,095.8mm falling in 2012 up to Boxing Day.