29/12/2017 London News

Good evening and welcome

to BBC London News.

I'm Claudia-Liza Armah.

With hundreds of thousands

of people heading

into central London for this year's

New Year Eve firework celebrations,

the Met Police has confirmed

there will be additional

armed officers on patrol.

And it's not just Scotland Yard -

the London Ambulance Service

is also preparing for its busiest

night of the year.

Frankie McCamley reports.

Last year's fireworks display,

watched by thousands in the capital,

all lining the Thames to take

in the sights and sounds.

It's one of the biggest

events of the year,

with preparations well under way.

But with so many descending

on one area,

security needs to be stepped up.

What people see as they come

into the footprint, they will see

a effective search and secure

regime, they will see

physical barriers, they will see

uniformed police officers,

they will see visible uniformed

private security contractors.

What they won't see is

a number of covert resources

that are also working alongside us

to keep this event safe.

The Met says it is learnt lessons

this year following four major

terror incidents in the city.

Elsewhere, other

emergency services

are stepping things

up for the big event.

For London Ambulance Service,

New Year's Eve is the busiest

night of the year.

Dozens of extra staff are going to

be on shift in this call centre.

They're expecting to take

around 2000 extra calls.

Everybody likes to party

on New Year's Eve.

We've got some simple messages

for everybody who wants

to go out to party.

Go out and party safely.

Have a plan, have a bite

to eat before you go,

drink plenty of water,

have a few drinks by all means,

but drink in moderation.

We want you to get home safely,

we want you to be healthy,

we want you to have a great night,

not have a night that ends up

in the back of an ambulance

or an emergency department.

People are being urged

to stay vigilant

but, most importantly,

enjoy the show.

Frankie McCamley, BBC London News.

Heartbroken friends of a woman found

murdered in North

London have described her as a kind,

fun and life-loving person.

The body of Iuliana Tudos was found

in Finsbury Park on Wednesday.

Police believe the 22-year-old,

who was also known as Julie,

was murdered on Christmas Eve.

Ayshea Buksh reports.

She was getting ready

for a Christmas in London

with her friends.

22-year-old Iuliana Tudos was last

seen in Camden on Christmas Eve

after finishing her shift

at a local pub.

Two days later, she was

found murdered near her

home in Finsbury Park.

Much of the park has been closed off

to the public while police

forensics search for clues.

She left Camden, left her friends,

and we know that she got transport

to come back to this area,

and effectively she was going back

to gather some stuff to go back

to her friend's for Christmas Eve.

We know her last movement

was at 8:20 on Christmas Eve,

so the 24th, and she was seen

in the perimeter,

we know we've got last sighting

in the perimeter of this park.

She's been described by friends

as a kind and friendly young woman.

A postmortem today showed

she had a head injury

and had been stabbed in the stomach.

It's really important

that we identify anyone

who may have seen her.

It was a lively area,

the park is a busy park,

and indeed the perimeter has got

public houses and other trades,

shops who may just have seen her,

she may be a regular

in one of those shops.

So far, no arrests have been made,

and police say anyone with

any information should contact

them as soon as possible.

Ayshea Buksh, BBC London News.

That's it for now from me,

but let's find out

what the weather's up

to with Chris Fawkes.

The weather will be cloudy but mild

tomorrow, temperatures rising

through the night, and they are at

their lowest at the moment, but as

we go through the night, this band

of rain will be working in, and

temperatures, our buy our, will

steadily be rising. By the end of

the night, temperatures will be into

double figures, would you believe it

going to be a mild start. Today,

mild but breezy, cloud and misty

nurse over the Downs and the

children's. The rain is never too

far away, but it will return towards

evening time. A bit of rain clearing

away in the early part of the day,

then a brighter day coming up with a

bit of sunshine, still fairly strong

south-westerly winds and

temperatures of around 10-12d

Celsius. For the