KYLIE has vowed to relax, Sir Cliff wants to get more sun, and former EastEnder Patsy Palmer has promised to be a good mother... everyone's making New Year's resolutions.

But it seems that the odds are stacked against anyone who vows to make changes in their life.

If you have confidence in your will-power, you could place a bet that you will keep your resolutions, but the bookies say it might be better to put your money on Irish pop group Westlife splitting up!

Hilary Spooner, press officer for Coral Bookmakers, said: "If we had a request we would look into it and come up with the odds. It would be up to the customer to decide if they wanted to take the bet.

"Bets on New Year's resolutions are difficult because something like losing weight could be proved but another popular resolution like giving up smoking would be difficult to prove. Therefore each request would have to be considered on its own merits.

"A lot of people don't stick to their new year's resolutions so it would be a silly bet to make unless it was something that the customer was determined to do. The most popular bets at the moment are on if groups like Westlife are going to split up."

If you're going to beat the bookies, you'll need will power like Dawn Scahill, 27, of Howe Croft, Clitheroe. She has just been named Lancashire Slimming World Woman of the Year for losing 6st 10oz -- going from a size 28 to a size 12 -- on a diet that began with a New Year's resolution.

It's thought that the tradition for new year's resolutions originated in ancient Babylon 4,000 years ago. New Year was celebrated on the first day of spring. In those days the most popular New Year resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment! After 46BC, when Julius Caesar established a permanent calendar beginning on January 1, the resolutions habit continued.

The most popular modern day resolutions are to:

Lose weight

Quit smoking

Stop drinking alcohol

Change careers

Save money

To be more honest

To live a healthier life style

Pay more attention to partners