Thousands of revellers in Dorset are getting ready to see in the new year tonight.

Residents and visitors alike will be flocking to Weymouth, Dorchester and Bridport to say goodbye to 2018 in style.

The traditional celebrations in Weymouth see people wearing all sorts of fancy dress costumes, from police officer uniforms to superheroes onesies, then heading to the town’s many pubs and clubs.

Tom Steadman of Tom and Erin’s fancy dress shop says the past weekend has been one of the shop’s busiest this year.

He said: “Saturday and Sunday are when it starts to get really busy for us.

“We have been selling a variety of stuff, including wigs and costumes.

“The men will usually leave it until last minute. We have served a lot more women so far. But we’ve got plenty of costumes.”

Last year, the shop’s Donald Trump costumes proved to be a bestseller, and will be back on the shelves once again.

Mr Steadman added: “We’ve improved on our costume this year. We have a Make America Great Again cap, a blue blazer and a red tie.”

The Royal Oak pub on Weymouth harbourside is hosting an all-day music bash in aid of The Lantern, starting at midday today and going into the night. Acts include The Surfing Birds, Minor Fret, Chloe, Tom & Jack on the Box and many more.

Meanwhile, seafront bars The Lazy Lizard and Aura are once again teaming up to host The Front Live from 8pm.

This year marks the 10th anniversary and organisers say it will be the biggest party yet.

The theme will be twisted disco, with revellers encouraged to wear their grooviest get-up.

Ali Record, one of the event’s organisers said: “We’re upgrading the event this year, so people can expect better pyrotechnics, better staging and bars.

“It’ll be a big one for Weymouth this year, our headline act is former Radio 1 presenter DJ Spoony.

“From our online ticket sales, we can see that people from all over the country will be coming to visit the town, it’s going to be a big night.”

There will be many other acts performing including Nay Nay, MC Onyxstone, DJ Devoo, Pete Healy, The Chase and Under the Carousel.

Online tickets have sold out, but there are some tickets still available at bars including, Aura, The Lazy Lizard, Batida and The George Bar and Grill.

For other music events, see the Echo gig guide at dorsetecho.co.uk

See Wednesday's Echo for a New Year's Eve picture special.