'Blast reported' in Chiswick, west London - Bosham house-sitter murder victim named as Valerie Graves

• Blast reported' in west London

  'Blast reported' in Chiswick, west London

  
  An air ambulance has been despatched following reports of an explosion at a flat in Chiswick, west London.
  About 30 firefighters were called to a fire at the ground floor flat in Edensor Gardens just before 15:00 GMT.
  A London Fire Brigade spokesman said the flat was thought to be occupied but there were no reports of any injuries.
  "Initial reports suggested an explosion but we are still investigating," the spokeswoman added.
  

• House-sitter murder victim named

  31 December 2013 Last updated at 15:27 GMT
  

  
  

  Valerie Graves had suffered a serious head injury

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  A woman who was found murdered while house-sitting in West Sussex has been named by police.

  Valerie Graves, 55, is believed to have been staying at the property in Smuggler's Lane, Bosham, near Chichester, with her family while the owners were on holiday.
  Ms Graves, of Bracklesham Bay, was found dead at the house on Monday, having suffered a serious head injury.
  Sussex Police said she had two grown-up children.
  Det Ch Insp Jon Fanner said it was a "rare incident" for Bosham, which he described as a "safe area".
  "At this stage we are keeping an open mind as to the motive, but we are appealing for witnesses who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously in the area from late afternoon on Sunday December 29 to around 9am on Monday December 30," he said.
  

  Police said they were keeping an open mind as to the motive

  "We have increased our neighbourhood policing patrols in the village.
  "If anyone has any information or concerns, I would urge them to speak to one of the officers who are there."
  A neighbour, who did not wish to be named, told the Press Association: "They [the owners] have people staying in the house while they are away for the holidays, it could be friends, it could be family.
  "It is not rented out, people come because it is a nice place to visit.
  "I am just very sad for our neighbours and for everybody.
  "You can't imagine coming back from holiday to this, it must be just horrendous."

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• UK gears up to welcome in New Year

  31 December 2013 Last updated at 15:41 GMT
  

  
  

  UK gearing up to welcome in New Year

  Last year's celebrations in London were watched by 250,000 from the riverbanks and almost 13m on their TVs

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  • London to 'taste' New Year's party

  Millions across the UK are gearing up to celebrate the start of the New Year, with parties, music and fireworks.

  Peach-flavoured snow and edible banana confetti will fall on 50,000 revellers gathering by the River Thames for London's "multi-sensory" firework show.
  In Edinburgh, the Pet Shop Boys will headline a concert in Princes Street Gardens before fireworks at the castle.
  There will be more fireworks in Cardiff, while Belfast's City Hall will be lit up with rainbow colours.
  Party atmosphere In what is being billed as "the world's first multi-sensory fireworks display", Londoners and city visitors will be doused in apple, cherry and strawberry mists and big orange-scented bubbles.
  Partygoers in an area the size of three football pitches will be able to taste and smell the party atmosphere.
  

  John Pattison from Newcastle has been reserving his viewing spot on the Thames Embankment since 10.30 GMT

  Another 100,000 or so are expected to line the Thames, despite being beyond the reach of the mist and bubbles. They will be given packs of fruit sweets and LED wristbands.
  London Mayor Boris Johnson said there was "no better way" to celebrate the highs of 2013 and the start of an exciting new year than by seeing "one of the world's most dazzling firework displays, now augmented in more ways than one".
  Buses, the Tube, DLR, tram and some National Rail services in Greater London will run all night and will be mostly free from 23:45 GMT until 04:30.
  

  Three days of celebrations in Edinburgh began on Monday with a city torchlight procession

  Edinburgh's famous Hogmanay street party, part of three days of celebrations, is expected to draw some 80,000 people.
  The Pet Shop Boys are sharing the Concert in the Gardens stage with the 1975 and Nina Nesbitt, while the street party will have music on three stages from the likes of King Creosote and Django Django.
  Traditional Scottish music will be playing at The Keilidh, an outdoor dance event.
  Edinburgh, Inverness, Stirling and the Aberdeenshire town of Stonehaven will be united in a choreographed moment at 20:14, to mark the new year, with spectacles such as fireworks, light installations and fire sculptures.
  Simple Minds will headline the Open Air in the Square event in Stonehaven, where a fireball swinging procession will also take place in the old town.
  In Stirling more than 5,000 people are expected at an outdoor party at Stirling Castle Esplanade, headlined by Deacon Blue.
  In Glasgow bagpipers, drummers and dancers are performing during the city's "Hogmanayday" on Tuesday between 12:00 GMT and 22:00.
  Mystery runner In Wales, 1,200 runners are expected to join the annual Nos Galan evening road race near Mountain Ash in the Cynon Valley.
  The four-mile race has been run for 55 years in honour of 18th Century athlete Griffith Morgan and is always led by a "mystery" international sporting star, whose identity is revealed on the night.
  In Belfast, lights at City Hall will countdown to midnight, and in Londonderry its last few hours as the UK City of Culture 2013 will be marked with a church service in the cathedral.
  Forecasters say a band of showers, possibly bringing hail and thunder, is likely to pass across the UK throughout New Year's Eve afternoon and evening.
  By midnight, skies should clear in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but there is still a risk of rain in the south of England.
  Temperatures across the UK, as the new year is seen in, will range from 4C to 9C, BBC Weather's Nina Ridge says.
  

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