REVELLERS across the county were waking up with sore heads today after painting the town red in a bid to celebrate the New Year.Due to the mild weather and a large party spirit, thousands of people from Suffolk joined the rest of the world to welcome 2005.

REVELLERS across the county were waking up with sore heads today after painting the town red in a bid to celebrate the New Year.

Due to the mild weather and a large party spirit, thousands of people from Suffolk joined the rest of the world to welcome 2005.

But the plight of those families devastated by the Asian tsunami remained in people's thoughts as thousands fell silent before midnight as a mark of respect.

Pubs and clubs across Suffolk were packed full of people raising their glasses at the strike of midnight.

As usual Ipswich's Cornhill was a busy meeting point for people wishing to unite as the clock struck midnight.

Neil Puffett, 24, was one of the faces to be seen in the crowd.

He said: "It is my first New Year's Eve spent in Ipswich and the Cornhill has certainly been a good location to have some fun.

"I have really enjoyed the feel of everybody joining together to celebrate."

Michelle Farrow, 26, of Ashcroft Road, Ipswich, said: "All my friends come down here and it is a great place to see the New Year in.

"I have been here before and it is always a good laugh."

Elsewhere, in several of Suffolk's towns and villages the cackle of fireworks could be heard as they lit up the sky.

Verses of Auld Lang Syne were bellowed out to ensure everyone in the county knew the New Year had come.

In London, thousands of cheering revellers celebrated the New Year by watching a dazzling firework display on the banks of the river Thames.

Against a background of the London Eye delighted spectators watched the spectacular show to mark the start of 2005.

The fireworks built up to a to a deafening crescendo, lighting up the South Bank of the centre of the capital.

The display followed two minutes' silence to remember the dead of the Asian tsunami disaster.

The Metropolitan Police said at least 150,000 people gathered in central London to see in the New Year.

Officers arrested 42 people, mainly for possession of drugs, minor public disorder offences and drunkenness. One of those arrested was carrying a knife and another had let off fireworks illegally.