Christmas Eve latest: 'Small chance' of hottest UK Christmas Day on ...

We have been reporting today that rail disruption is likely as two of London's railway stations, King's Cross and Paddington, will be shut due to engineering works.

Here are the latest updates we are getting from the UK train networks...

South Western Railway

The company has said a safety inspection of the track is affecting the railway between Ryde Pier Head to Ryde St Johns Road and that trains may be cancelled, delayed or revised.

There will not be any train services across its entire network on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Scot Rail

The network has said due to engineering work, there's an amended service running to/from Glasgow Queen St from 26 December to 2 January. 

The last train services to/from Glasgow Queen St is a 9pm.

National Rail

National Rail reports delays between Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed and says the delays are expected until 12pm.

Lines have reopened following a tree blocking the railway at Crowhurst. 

Southern Rail

The rail network has listed the last trains from London Bridge, Brighton, London Victoria and Gatwick Airport tonight.

Santa Claus has quite the journey ahead of him, with millions of households to visit tonight.

And it appears his travels won't stop there, with the UK's airports anticipating his arrival too.

Heathrow Airport have joined Newcastle International Airport in sharing a comical picture of their arrivals board, which has Santa and his reindeers set to arrive on Christmas Day.

Away from the travel disruption, Rishi Sunak has issued his festive message to the country and thanked those "who will be sacrificing their Christmases this year in the service of others".

"It's that magical time of year again when so many of us are looking forward to all the joy and togetherness of tomorrow," he said.

"But before then I want to take a moment to thank all those who will be sacrificing their Christmases this year in the service of others."

He went on pay tribute to the those in the NHS, police forces and armed forces and said looking ahead "let's keep that promise of a brighter future burning into the New Year."

There are part closures on the DLR and Elizabeth lines this morning and a planned closure on the Waterloo and City line.

Meanwhile, there is a special service on the London Overground.

Transport for London reports a good service on all other lines. 

The King will deliver his Christmas message from the room behind the Buckingham Palace balcony, which has been decorated with a living Christmas tree.

Environmentally friendly natural ornaments are hanging from the tree, which will be replanted at a later date.

A photo of the King has been released ahead of the broadcast which will take place on Christmas Day. 

The message was recorded in early December inside the Centre Room at Buckingham Palace, which overlooks The Mall.

The King is pictured standing in front of the large doors that lead onto the iconic balcony, where he waved to the crowds after the coronation.

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As millions prepare to brave the roads for their Christmas getaways, Newcastle International Airport has tried to spread a little festive cheer today.

A picture of its arrival board on X, formerly Twitter, shows the arrival of Santa Claus and his reindeers just after midnight on Christmas Day.

Christmas Day could reach record temperatures in the UK, with only Scottish mountains likely to see snow, the Met Office has said.

The forecaster said 25 December will be damp and windy but especially mild, with highs of 13C or 14C.

The hottest Christmas Day on record was 15.6C in 1920, so there is a "small chance" of that record being broken, the Met Office added.

Meteorologist Liam Eslick said there may be snow on mountains in Scotland, but it is "not looking likely that there will be a white Christmas in England".

He added: "It's looking like a damp picture across the UK, heavy rain possibly in Wales. Past Christmas lunch there could be some breaks if people are looking to go out and about.

"Boxing Day is probably going to be the best day if people are looking to go for a walk."

As millions across the country prepare to travel to their loved ones for Christmas Day, here are some of the scenes emerging from King's Cross station this morning.

Rail disruption is likely today as two of London's railway stations, King's Cross and Paddington, will be shut due to engineering works.

The closure of London Paddington will continue until Wednesday, meaning no mainline trains will serve Heathrow Airport.

There are two yellow weather warnings for wind currently in place, with the Met Office warning of damage to buildings and power cuts.

There is also a yellow weather warning for rain in Wales.

Forecaster Jonathan Vautrey said: "Obviously there will be quite a lot of people travelling and wanting to get home for Christmas itself.

"Particularly with these strong winds we could see some flying debris thrown on to particular roads or railway services, so if you get a tree down then that's going to cause cancellations and delays.

"There's the potential for isolated power cuts which will again lead to the risk of some disruption at times.

"If you've got a particular train that you're catching make sure you're looking ahead of time if there have been any cancellations.

"Just make sure you're driving carefully, there's the potential that high-sided vehicles could get hit by strong gusts of wind which has the potential to cause impacts, so we might see bridges closing as well."

Travellers won't have to contend with snow, however, with snowfall on 25 December limited to mountains in Scotland and meteorologist Liam Eslick concluding it is "not looking likely… there will be a white Christmas in England".

He added Christmas Day is expected to be much milder than usual, with a potential top temperature of 14C - far higher than the December average of between 7C and 8C.

Flying debris and power cuts threaten to disrupt last-minute getaway plans as forecasters warn of strong winds on Christmas Eve.

No mainline trains will serve Heathrow Airport until Wednesday and the Port of Dover grappled with long waiting times of 90 minutes yesterday after a surge in demand.

The expected disruption to travel plans could get even worse as gusts of up to 70mph will hit much of Scotland and parts of northern and central areas of England.

Motorists have been advised by the RAC to travel before 11am or after 6pm to reduce the chance of being stuck in long queues.

Eurostar, which operates rail services to and from London St Pancras, is running two extra trains per day between London and Paris - including on Christmas Eve - to help people whose trains were cancelled on Thursday.

And vehicle-carrying train service Le Shuttle is running its usual timetable, but is only accepting customers who have pre-booked.