01/01/2017 London News

Good evening and welcome to BBC London news with me, Louisa Preston.

Hundreds of people were forced to flee a west London pub

during a New Year's Eve party in the early hours of this morning.

The Aeronaut pub in Acton was engulfed by flames

during the celebrations and more than 300 people had

The fire alarm started going off, started seeing smoke come up

And then we realised that downstairs was on fire.

Last night, during a packed New Year's Eve party,

Hundreds of people had enjoyed a circus show, just hours before.

Jackie, who arranged and performed in it,

She was saved by her friends, Billy ad Earl.

Too much smoke came up, and we couldn't see or breathe.

Billy and Earl managed to get us out onto the balcony.

Her friend Angeliqua, also a performer, was

It was quite scary, and then this lady...

There was a lady that started shouting, "Move away,

It wasn't just the bravery of ordinary members of the public.

Officers from the next-door police station also helped

Today fire teams inspected the damage from the blaze.

Six people, including some officers, were taken to hospital suffering

from smoke inhalation or minor injuries.

The cause of the fire isn't known, although several people we spoke

to at the pub say they saw a Christmas tree go up in flames.

The London Fire Brigade are investigating to find

out what started this New Year's Eve inferno.

Passengers using Southern Rail services have been warned that

trains will be severely disrupted tomorrow at the end of another three

And we'd like to hear from you if you've been affected

We're hosting a televised debate next Sunday.

If you'd like to take part, email your details,

Now, more than 8,000 performers from around the world have taken

part in London's New Year's Day Parade.

This year's theme was blockbuster movies and despite the rain

Londoners and tourists lined the route.

It's a positively cheery start to 2017, watched

The annual New Year's Day Parade in central London gets

bigger every year and, in light of recent terrorist attacks

in Europe, 3000 extra police were drafted in.

Both the Mayor and Scotland Yard have said there would be extra

Organisers say they want people to feel safe.

The theme of this year's parade was Hollywood movies

and many of the Londoners who took part acted out famous films.

We've got 17 London boroughs represented here today,

8500 performers, around about 4000 of which have come

We are called Alexis I Tiger Marching Band

and we're from Wilmington, Delaware in the US.

What's it like to be in London for this?

And for some, the event had extra meaning.

These children were from the St Christopher's Hospice

I was asking, how does it feel to participate?

What they said was that it felt like they were being part

of a larger community, that they were represented,

that they were being seen and that they were also honouring

For some of them, it could be one of the last big things

There was heavy rain later in the afternoon,

Let's find out what the weather's going to be like tomorrow.

It was a rather damp start to the New Year.

As we head to the overnight, that rain will push

So, a lot of cloud and first thing in the

As we head through the day, we'll see increasing

But it will be a very cold day, despite

For Monday night coming to Tuesday, we are expecting a widespread frost.

You will need some extra time to scrape the windscreen if you are

Staying cold and frosty for the rest of the week.

For many, New Year's Day was a shocker with all of that rain

around. Tomorrow will be sunny, but it is getting colder. This is rain

clearing from the south-east. These specks of white as snow mixed in

with showers across parts of northern England, particularly

across Scotland, low levels here. I say that they hazard in northern and

eastern areas. I would not rule out slippery areas almost anywhere by

the morning, by which time temperatures will be close to or

below freezing in many places. A bright and sunny start, but still

wintry showers, sliding down the North Sea coast. Some snow down at

quite low levels to the north of Scotland. Here, the snow will turn

to rain. Something milder creeping in off the Atlantic