Thousands of people gathered in Birmingham’s Centenary Square as they waited for official fireworks that were rumoured to be happening on social media.

However West Midlands Police officers patrolled the square telling those who made their way down that the event was not happening.

Social media and A.I. posts gave the impression that a spectacular fireworks display was going ahead but this was false information and fake news.

Police and security officers were vastly outnumbered by the sea of people but fortunately there was only small pockets of disruption.

When the clock struck midnight, scores of people cheered and one person let a firework off in the crowd and another let a small box of fireworks off but no organised display happened.

Birmingham has not held an official fireworks display for a decade.

West Midlands Police said in a statement online:

We’re aware of speculation of a New Year’s Eve fireworks display taking place in Birmingham’s Centenary Square tonight – but we can confirm this is not the case.

We don’t want people travelling unnecessarily into the city centre tonight to be left disappointed after discovering the event isn’t taking place.

Thousands of revellers will be coming into Birmingham to enjoy the celebrations at bars and venues across the city and that’s why we will have a large visible presence in the city to ensure celebrations go smoothly.

Birmingham Superintendent Emlyn Richards said: “There are rumours online that a fireworks display will take place in Centenary Square but there isn’t a planned event this year. We don’t want people travelling into the city to be disappointed when they arrive and discover this is the case.

“There will be thousands of people travelling into the city to enjoy themselves at venues across the city. We will be visible on the streets tonight to ensure everything runs smoothly and people have a wonderful evening.”

ENDS