The New Year's Eve fireworks display in Blackpool has had to be cancelled due to tonight's weather.
An event was due to take place tonight at 5pm alongside the Christmas By The Sea village on the Tower Festival Headland.
But the cancellation was confirmed this morning due to a 'forecast of strong blustery winds across the seafront', LancsLive reports.
VisitBlackpool say that they have taken the decision based on safety advice from the company operating the planned fireworks display.
A VisitBlackpool spokesperson said: “We are really disappointed that we can’t celebrate the start of a new year in the way we had hoped, but public safety has to come first.
“Unfortunately, as the fireworks were being fired from the beach, it isn’t possible to move the time of the display to later this evening because of tidal conditions. We have therefore taken the decision to cancel now to give people the earliest opportunity to plan their day.”
A spokesperson for the fireworks company, Titanium, said: “Very reluctantly we have had to advise Blackpool Council that we will be unable to fire the show due to gusting winds from an unfavourable direction.”
The Christmas By The Sea village on the headland, which includes free skating rink, artificial snowfalls, light projection shows, light installations, the giant Star Flyer ride and log cabins serving food and drink, will still be open tonight.
The Christmas village will remain in place until Bank Holiday Monday as part of an extended Blackpool Illuminations season.
Forecasters are expecting one of the warmest New Year's Eves on record with temperatures hitting 15 degrees in many parts of the UK.
But winter isn't over just yet as there's another Arctic blast set to hit in January, bringing freezing temperatures and snow.
Maps from WXCharts show heavy snow is predicted for January 12 with up to 10 inches for the north of England including Newcastle and the North East, while five inches could land in Scotland.
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The charts show three inches for Manchester while the Wales and Midlands can expect a light covering.
Similar snowfalls are expected over the following days in mid-January while temperatures will start to drop early in the month with the mercury close to zero for England and as low as -5C in the Scottish Highlands.
