Sporting stars honoured in New Year list

By Harriet Hadfield, Sky News Reporter

More than 100 Olympians and Paralympians have been included among the 1,197 people on the New Year Honours List.
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Every gold medallist from the Rio Games who hadn't already been recognised in previous years has been honoured.

Andy Murray becomes Sir Andy - awarded a knighthood for services to tennis, and for his charity work in a year in which he won Olympic gold and became world number one.

Distance runner Mo Farah - also awarded a knighthood - said it was a "dream come true" for a boy who, when he arrived in London from Somalia, was unable to speak English.
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Damehoods have been awarded to heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill and rower Katherine Grainger.











Video:Who is on the New Year Honours List?
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News of Victoria Beckham's OBE for services to the fashion industry was revealed earlier this week, breaking protocol, despite a largely successful push by the Cabinet Office to clamp down on leaks this year.

From the world of entertainment, Kinks frontman Ray Davies, comedian Ken Dodd and star of screen and stage Mark Rylance have been awarded knighthoods.

:: Comedian Ken Dodd among celebrities recognised in New Year Honours List

Marcia Shakespeare, whose daughter Letisha was murdered in Birmingham in 2003, has been awarded an MBE.

The campaigner told Sky News: "It's overwhelming, thinking about 14 years ago when I was appealing for people to come forward about Letisha's murder, so you think 14 years down the line, it's a bittersweet moment."

The list also honours photojournalist Don McCullin, who has been recognised for his war photography with a CBE.

He said: "To be recognised for a lifetime's work, you think well I haven't gone unnoticed. That's the response I had."

Other sporting names on the list include recently-married couple Jason and Laura Kenny (nee Trott) who receive CBEs for services to cycling.

There is an OBE for Kate Richardson-Walsh and an MBE for her wife Helen Richardson-Walsh, for their role in the women's hockey team.

And there are MBEs for Paralympic swimmer Ellie Robinson and Olympic gymnast Max Whitlock.

Britons use NHS as 'national hangover service', says health boss

Paramedics in London are preparing for their busiest night ever - as the head of NHS England branded drunken revellers who call ambulances "selfish".
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Following the traditional fireworks celebration by the River Thames, the London Ambulance Service is predicting more than 3,500 call-outs.

Partygoers are being urged to only request their help if it is a genuine emergency.

"We're busier than we have ever been anyway, up 10% year on year, but on New Year's Eve the workload is even more intense," said LAS spokesman Kevin Bate.

"There's the general workload we always have, then add to that everything that 31 December generates and you have a spectacularly busy night."

:: Cheap booze warning for New Year's Eve drinkers

It's estimated that more than 40% of the call-outs made by ambulance crews in the first few hours of New Year's Day will be alcohol-related.

Mr Bate added: "We always have a lot of public order issues because of the way people react to the amount of alcohol they have consumed.

"We are anticipating somewhere in the region of 3,500 call-outs and the majority of them will come between midnight and 6am on New Year's Day.
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"If you are unwell do not hesitate to call the emergency services, but if you are going to drink do not drink to excess and put yourself in a vulnerable position.

"We want our resources going to the right places and attending people who have drunk excessively means our crews may not be able to help emergencies elsewhere."



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LAS made its prediction for New Year's Eve as the head of the National Health Service claimed it is being turned into the "National Hangover Service" because of the effect of binge drinking on its resources.

Simon Stevens told The Daily Telegraph: "At a time of year when hospitals are always under pressure, caring for a spike in winter emergencies, it's really selfish to get so blotto that you end up in an ambulance or A&E.

"More than a third of A&E attendances at peak times are caused by drunkenness. Casualty nurses and doctors are understandably frustrated about the NHS being used as a national hangover service.

"In our towns and cities this Christmas and New Year, the paramedic called to a drunk partygoer passed out on the pavement is an ambulance crew obviously not then available for a genuine medical emergency."