Glorious sunshine, and roads misery

Britain basked in the sunshine yesterday as temperatures soared up to 21C, giving the country its warmest Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend for five years.

But the heat did nothing to alleviate the misery of motorists caught in a series of traffic jams which brought chaos to many areas of Britain. The worst delay was in Staffordshire where the M6 was closed after a military tanker overturned, covering the motorway with hundreds of gallons of aviation fuel. Fire services immediately closed the carriageway in both directions. A five-vehicle pile-up on the A48 near Carmarthen, Dyfed, which resulted in 12 minor injuries, including seven to children, also caused severe disruption. Yesterday's incident follows the death of a six-month-old baby in a crash in North Wales on Sunday.