this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at nine: three members of a british family have drowned at a holiday resort on the costa del sol — spanish police are investigating. crowds gather at sandringham, where the queen will lead members of the royal family at their traditional christmas day service. huge excitement here at sandringham where people have been queueing since the early hours of this morning to see the royals. the dean of westminster abbey says britain is in need of the hope offered by the christmas story. and i will be looking back on a year when greta thunberg scolded world leaders for inaction on climate change. and we saw the first picture ofa change. and we saw the first picture of a black hole. that is the year in

science with me. good morning. happy christmas and welcome to bbc news. the foreign office says it's helping a british woman, after three members of the same family drowned in the swimming pool of a holiday resort in spain. it's thought a nine—year—old girl got into difficulties in the water, and her 16—year—old brother and theirfather died after trying to help her. nick quraishi reports. the christmas holiday that turned to tragedy in one of spain's top tourist destinations. police divers are visible next to the pool which claimed the lives of the three family members. it's understood a nine—year—old girl first got into difficulty in the water. her 16—year—old brother and father, who was 52, then jumped

in to try to save her. why none resurfaced from one of the many pools here is now the subject of a major investigation. hotel firm clc world resorts, which runs the complex, released a statement. it said... the firm says it's helping the authorities fully with their investigations into the deaths, while the foreign office has confirmed it's offering assistance to a british woman following what happened. nick quraishi, bbc news. our news correspondent, emily unia, is here with me now. this just thisjust appears

this just appears to be a terrible family tragedy? yes, i think we are still trying to understand what happened. it looks like they will be postmortem investigations today. that may give us more of an explanation. looking around on social media i've seen, tos from one guest at the resort there at the moment, and he said there are a lot of pools at the resort, some appear to have lifeguards, some don't. it is not clear what actually occurred. we know this child got into difficulties in the pool and it looks like her brother and her father tried to rescue her and all of them have lost their lives. we still have very little information about what actually happened. emily, thank you. the queen will lead members of the royal family for the annual festive church service at sandringham this morning. yesterday, the duke of edinburgh rejoined his family after spending four nights in hospital. prince george and princess charlotte will attend the service for the first time, but it's unknown whether prince andrew, who has stepped back from royal duties will attend the service. charlotte gallagher reports.

prince philip arrives back at sandringham by helicopter after spending four nights in a central london hospital. he walked out unaided and without a stick — a huge relief for his family that he is home to spend christmas day with them. this hasn't been the smoothest year for the royals. something the queen appears to acknowledge in her christmas message, describing 2019 as quite bumpy. later today, the royal family will attend church on the sandringham estate. the duke and duchess of sussex, meghan and harry, of course, won't be here. but it's believed that prince george and princess charlotte will attend the service for the first time. we could also see prince andrew attend. there was speculation he might not go because of the scrutiny and criticism surrounding his relationship with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. whoever attends, the royal family will want to put on a united front after months of newspaper headlines. charlotte gallagher, bbc news, sandringham.

and charlotte is in sandringham. give us a sense of the scene and the anticipation there, charlotte? the sun is finally out. it was really cold earlier. it didn't stop hundreds of people from queueing up from the early hours of the morning. one lady got here at one o'clock in the morning. if you can see the ambulance behind me, that is because somebody further up in the queue has fallen over. they are being cared for. people have come from all over britain, in some cases across the world, to see the royal family. you do get to see them up close. usually when they do events at buckingham palace you don't see then that clearly. here, they come up to you and talk. margaret and andrew have come down from bridlington in east yorkshire. this is yourfirst come down from bridlington in east yorkshire. this is your first time. how are you feeling? it's lovely.

it's fresh, exciting. we just can't wait to see them. fresh is what we say in yorkshire when it is really cold! who are you most looking forward to seeing? little charlotte and george, hopefully. is this the first time you will have seen the queen? it certainly is, yeah. i am looking forward to that. we have all grown up looking forward to that. we have all grown up with her. she is such a figure in everyone's eyes? yes. i was born in 1953 when she was crowned. yeah. a special day. and andrew, you are cousins, aren't you? you have come down with some of the otherfamily you have come down with some of the other family but they are not quite as devoted to the royal family. they are having a lion? yes. we travel down last thursday. we have a touring caravan. we are staying on the sandringham estate caravan club. we have been here since seven o'clock this morning. we are doing something different for christmas.

you will be having a royal christmas on the sandringham estate! who are you most excited about seeing? all of them. it is the only opportunity of them. it is the only opportunity of them. it is the only opportunity of the year that you get to see everyone together. i am really looking forward to seeing them. what is it about the royal family that appeals to you so much that it draws you out on christmas day morning so early? i think it's their dedication. it's their dedication to the country and what they have done for the country. i think the queen is absent amazing. are you hoping to get a good photo? yes, i hope so. and if you get a good photo your family who stayed in bed might be a bitjealous. if family who stayed in bed might be a bit jealous. if you family who stayed in bed might be a bitjealous. if you get to speak to prince william, catherine, even the queen. they could be prettyjealous. julian, we are expecting thousands of people actually to come down for christmas day to meet the royal family. they were saying 6000 people yesterday. it just shows you

family. they were saying 6000 people yesterday. itjust shows you even though the queen says it has been a bumpy year for them, they are still incredibly important to a lot of people and they do have quite widespread support. charlotte, thank you very much for the time being. charlotte gallagher at sandringham. back there for the royal arrivals, starting at about quarter to 11, ten to 11. a new photo taken by the duchess of cambridge of her husband and children has been released with a christmas message today. the duke of cambridge is pictured kissing their youngest child, prince louis, with princess charlotte and prince george. the picture was taken in norfolk earlier this year. the dean of westminster abbey says britain is in need of the hope offered by the christmas story. speaking before the midnight service, he said he was hoping the nativity could unite people after years of political conflict. our religion editor, martin bashir, reports. this is the first christmas season for the new dean of westminster abbey,

doctor david hoyle. an ancient cathedral where monarchs have been crowned and poets celebrated, it is at the heart of our nation, a nation that he says is bitterly divided. i see the divisions everybody else sees. i feel them. i get angry. and i get disturbed. i live in westminster where i bump into it all the time. we need some hope in all of this. i think we've become angry and i think we've become despairing. doctor hoyle says that we need an intervention from outside and that the message of christmas offers the possibility of genuine engagement without hostility. peace isn't the moment when the arguments stop. peace is the moment when we can contain are arguments. and that's where we are really struggling at the moment, it seems to me. we can't enjoy our variety.

we have to be this or that. i think the gospel suggests this and that, they are both god—given. we can do this together. the story of a child refugee born in perilous circumstances is not the image depicted on most christmas cards. and yet, as the dean of this historic abbey makes clear, redemption and reconciliation are possible, though the task ahead is a challenging one. martin bashir, bbc news. pope francis has marked midnight mass at the vatican, telling worshippers that god loves everyone "even the worst of us". thousands of people packed st peter's basilica in rome for the service. the pope also spoke of change, urging his followers to stop trying to change other people and try to change themselves. our rome correspondent, mark lowen, reports. in the gilded splendour of st peter's basilica, this was a solemn christmas eve mass. the seventh that

pope francis has led. his homily talked of god's love. "you may have mistaken ideas, you may have made a complete mess of things," he said, "but the lord continues to love you." that will be seen by some as a reference to church scandals, including sex abuse. francis' papacy is in many ways reformist, shaking up the traditional dominance of the church. perhaps then there was a pointed message in his words, we change, the church changes, history changes once we stop trying to change others but try to change ourselves. among those taking part in the liturgy where children are chosen from countries including venezuela, iraq and uganda, a clear gesture from the leader of 1.3 billion catholics who often focuses on the plight of migrants and victims of war, as well as on extending the reach of the church to its periphery.

after the spirituality of midnight mass comes the pope christmas day message, when he is expected to touch a little bit more on political themes close to the heart of the 83—year—old pontiff. mark lowen, bbc news. bethlehem has experienced its best christmas period for tourist numbers in two decades after thousands of people gathered to mark christmas day. the town is honoured by christians and pilgrims as the birthplace ofjesus christ. the festivities centred on the church of the nativity. hundreds of people in australia have been forced from their homes for the holidays, as the country battles some of its worst bushfires in years. figures released by firefighters in new south wales reveal nearly a thousand houses have been destroyed. thousands of australians have moved from their dayjobs to help the firefighting efforts and a change in the weather conditions have aided attempts

to control the bushfires. tha nkfully thankfully we are seeing a bit of respite here across the state. in the last 2a hours we have seen between 30 and 50 millilitres of rain falling. hopefully that will put an end to fires across northern parts of new south wales, but certainly around the sydney area, central and southern parts of new south wales we certainly have a long way to go with next to no moisture falling across those areas. some rain and how much? here is our correspondent. there isn't much forecast and if they need a lot of it to get the help on the ground as far as firefighters are concerned. we did get help in sydney. there is a little predicted for some areas of new south wales. many firefighters

have said that really mother nature needs to help us out here with a lot more rain, which is an forecast. what is actually forecast areas soaring temperatures within the next few days, definitely going through the weekend. that is what they are worried about. firefighters are using this lull in the weather with cooling temperatures to try and contain smallerflames cooling temperatures to try and contain smaller flames as they flare up, tryfor contain smaller flames as they flare up, try for them not to travel. and of course doing the backfiring which is scorching areas around houses, around areas that they are concerned about for it to be burned out for the fire is not to travel. really what they are saying is, as they continue to grow more tired because they have been nonstop, it is a concern about the rising temperatures within the next weekend. hundreds of pro—democracy protesters have held a rally in a hong kong shopping centre. the city has seen anti—government clashes over

the past 6 months due to a controversial extradition bill. protestors were seen putting up posters on walls which read ‘we have not won the revolution, we need to keep going' we arejust we are just showing a live pictures from outside that shopping centre in hong kong. you can see the scale of the police presence. people still going about their business alongside those police officers. clearly a tense few hours as we speak. the headlines on bbc news: three members of a british family have drowned at a holiday resort on the costa del sol — spanish police are investigating. crowds gather at sandringham, where the queen will lead members of the royal family at their traditional christmas day service. the dean of westminster abbey says britain is in need of the hope offered by the christmas story.

the m1 motorway has now reopened southbound after two serious incidents overnight. a stretch of the motorway in bedfordshire was closed late on tuesday night after a serious crash on the northbound carriageway of the motorway and a second accident took place on the m1 in hertfordshire, between luton airport and dunstable. hertfordshire and bedfordshire police forces are involved in both incidents. the northbound carriage remains closed. president trump has kept his promise to reduce the numbers of people being given asylum in the us. but his opponents — including the mexican government — say his new measures may be putting asylum seekers at risk. those who apply often face a wait in mexico for months, and even then their chances are slim. for an increasing number, fleeing persecution in their own countries and unable to return, the crackdown has led them to desperate measures. ana gabriela rojas reports from matamoros, on the mexico/texas border.

as winter approaches this corner of the world becomes even more hostile to those seeking safety and security. fernanda is too scared to go home to honduras, where she is wa nted go home to honduras, where she is wanted for a political desperate to be reunited with family in the us, she has spent four months in squalid conditions on the border. now she has taken a step that fills her with her. she sends her seven—year—old son across the border along. so, fernanda took her boy to this border bridge and said goodbye.

he had to make the difficult decision. he wanted to give his eight—year—old son a chance of a future. so with a piece of paper with the phone number of a relative on, he sent across the border along. president trump crackdown on migration means fewer adults get... a lawyer who volunteers here says people are becoming increasingly desperate. now almost on a daily basis i talked to at least several

families who have sent over children 01’ families who have sent over children or teenage children who have presented themselves without their pa rents. presented themselves without their parents. this former asylum officer says america's migration system is designed to keep people out, even those at risk. they are not actually evaluating if someone would be persecuted and tortured. and no matter what that individual says to the officer, they will be sent back to mexico. we are sending bad people we know will be harmed. fernanda's son is still in the custody of us authorities. but she says she has no regrets. what would you say to people who criticise you for sending your son? for her and many others it is still

not clear when or even if they will be running —— reunited again. a moment ago i mentioned the disruption on the m1 motorway overnight in bedfordshire and hertfordshire. there is an update from bedfordshire police that a woman has died in this serious collision, as they are describing it, on the m1 last night. you can see a reference to two accidents. this is the accident were bedfordshire police was investigating. a number of vehicles involved around quarter past 11 last night on the northbound stretch of the motorway near to junction 12. police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward. confirmation that a woman has died in that accident in bedfordshire. a bakery in the uk claims to be the first in the country to make bread out of insects. each of the loaves at roberts bakery in cheshire contains more than 300 crickets mixed into the flour. eating insects can help boost nutrition and reduce pollution,

according to a un report. peter marshall reports. it is still making the usual bread at robert's bakery. there is a new batch production. the key ingredient is this. crickets. the bakery claims to be the first in the uk to make insect bread, a crunchy cricket loaf. we really want consumers to think about their food and where it comes from. and also about the impact that food is having on the environment and the world. this is oui’ environment and the world. this is our little way of saying to consumers, take the challenge. try one of our loaves and see if you like cricket bread. it is not as unusual as you might think. the un estimates last year around the globe at least 2 million people ate insects. they are a good source of protein. producing them as less environmentally damaging than producing meat. when we grow crickets we need a small land area but more importantly crickets emit little greenhouse gas. we know there

has been a lot of discussion lately about animals and the impact they have on their greenhouse gas emissions. that is the big sustainable credibility around crickets. i don't know who did the counting but they reckon there are 336 crickets in each loaf. although it is called crunchy cricket bread, it is called crunchy cricket bread, it shouldn't be crunchy because they are ground down and mixed with wheat flour. however, i'm going to as the good people of northwich to give it a go. it's all right though. it tastes disappointingly normal. it just tastes like nice brown bread. give it a go. they reckon there are 336 crickets in each loaf. that's nice. it tastes naughty. -- knotty. you can't taste the crickets. if i can, they taste good. the first batch is only 100 loaves. they will await public reaction before deciding if crunchy cricket bread

has a serious feature. peter marshall reporting. for the past 20 years, pensioner terrence has spent christmas day alone. this december has been very different for him. since he told his story to bbc breakfast, he's been very busy — and today he's volunteering with age uk. naga munchetty met up with him to find out how his life has changed. hello, terrence. lovely to see you. how are you? are you well? fine, yeah. you're looking well. thank you very much. what are we up to today? well, i'm taking you to a tea dance. i'm excited about that. do you want to show me the way? you come with me. you've been busy. # dreaming of a white christmas... did you say you had two left feet? yes. it's all right, so have i! laughter.

but dancing's lovely. it's such a lovely way to meet people. and you can see everyone here, look, this is fabulous. terrence, you have warmed the hearts of the nation over the last few weeks and you've encouraged more people to make sure that no—one's lonely this christmas. what do you make of the impact you've had? well, i'm really glad it has, but i didn't expect it to go like this, do you understand what i mean? cause as far as i was concerned, all i was doing was telling it like it was, like i always have done, about spending the last 20 christmases on my own, which i have done since mother passed. if i've done it to help age uk, then i'm more than pleased. and i've made an awful lot of friends as well. terrence's story is not unusual. we have thousands of older people in oldham that are living

terrence's life. every christmas day they spend it on their own. and that's what's made it special this year. at least those people, neighbours are going to look in on them, people are going to pop a card through the door, and make a real difference to those people. the oldham college choir, just for you. # silent night, holy night. when we came to your house and sang for you, it made us feel so special. it made you feel so special? it broke me hope. i know. it was adorable, seeing you so happy. thank you. i've got to say, sophie, from the day you came to my front door, i can't tell you , how pleased i am that you have now signed up as a volunteerfor age uk. happy christmas.

have a good one. we've been sent loads of cards and presents, so we thought we'd show you some of them. over here, would you like to have a look? they have been addressed to dan on your behalf. you can see they're "to terrence". why would... why. . ? well, you've touched the hearts of people, terrence. i would like to thank everybody. ijust want to give you an idea. i'll open this card. lots of lovely people do care about you. i think i get very emotional, me, you know. and when you see so much kindness has been given... you know, we always say there's this and there's that, what we forget is there's an awful lot of extremely kind people and i've found that out, believe you me, i've found that out. i can't thank you all enough. i really can't.

from the bottom of my heart. we have one more surprise, and this is from the bbc brea kfast tea m. oh dear. wait one moment. oh my word! what do you think? it's a fabulous snowman cake that was on the show. do you remember, dan and louise had the cake maker on the programme? it looks a bit like me, doesn't it? that is such a heart—warming story. what do you think father christmas does to relax before he goes to deliver his presents? read a book, take a long bath. well, how about surfing? thousands of people turned out at cocoa beach in florida on christmas eve to watch nearly 600 surfing santas hit the waves. the event has been taking place for ten years, and has raised thousands of dollars for charity.

four stranded deer who were rescued from a river in greater manchester have been named dancer, prancer, dasher and blitzen in homage to their sleigh—pulling cousins. daring dasher escaped and swam upstream, but the other three were reluctant to follow. they were all eventually saved by the rspca and fire service in a rescue that took four hours. how is the christmas day weather? matt taylor, good morning. happy christmas. good morning. happy christmas. good morning. happy christmas to you and to you all watching. sorry to say, not a white christmas. something much better. dry and sunny for the vast majority. some isolated showers in the far north and may be in the west. for most sunny spells

from dawn to dusk. after a chilly start temperature is —8 last night in parts of the highlands, five to 9 degrees this afternoon. into this evening and overnight fog could be a problem for some parts of england, central and southern scotland. if you are on the move the first part of the night, take note. the fog will left into low cloud. later, rain in the south—west and wales. another chilly night to the north and east of the country where we start dry and bright. a wet start tomorrow in northern ireland, wales, the south—west. turning brighter the sunshine. the rain preceded by snow on the high ground. turning back to rain later. not too much rain around.

you help hello this you help is bbc news with julian worricker.