People wanting to see this year's London New Year's Eve fireworks display will have to pay.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has announced that 100,000 tickets, costing £10 each, will be made available for the spectacular display in the heart of the capital.

The event has been free up to now, with an estimated 500,000 turning up to watch last year's display, with some unable to get a good view and others unable to see anything at all.

Mr Johnson said today: "London's New Year's Eve fireworks are phenomenally popular, not just in the capital, but across the world and we want to ensure it continues to be a safe, enjoyable and sustainable event for the long-term.

"After consulting with our partners, we are introducing ticketing to help manage crowd numbers and create a better experience on the night.

"For anyone without a ticket the fireworks are again being shown live and in full on television."

People will be able to book up to four tickets from 12 noon on September 26 by going to www.london.gov.uk/nye.

No profit will be made on the tickets, with the money taken covering the cost of ticketing and on the extra infrastructure the decision to charge will bring.