Holiday congestion set to peak tomorrow

Millions of people hoping to beat the bank-holiday hordes by setting off at the crack of dawn should perhaps think again - experts predict the roads to be at their worst tomorrow morning.

Congestion, which began to build up on major routes this afternoon, is expected to increase steadily until about midday.

But those who left this morning enjoyed relatively easy journeys as others chose to delay their departures owing to a gloomy weather forecast.

However, conditions are due to improve tomorrow, prompting many to head for the coastal regions.

With showers set to relent, many thousands were flocking to music festivals, complete with wellies and waterproofs.

Graham Smith, of AA Roadwatch, said: "It's been a bit of a late start today and it seems a lot of people were put off by the weather.

"But it now looks like they have made the decision to go and we have seen congestion build up quite rapidly on major routes.

"This will continue into tomorrow morning when it will be busy on most of the holiday roads."

He offered a gloomy picture to those aiming to avoid the worst of the traffic.

"To get a good run, you should have left this morning," he said. "If you haven't left already, you've probably left it too late.

This weekend is traditionally one of the busiest of the year with some 16 million cars expected on the roads.

Those experiencing the worst traffic this afternoon included the M25, west of London, the A303 and the M5, where traffic was brought to a halt shortly before 9pm yesterday by a massive pile-up at Cullompton, near Exeter, in Devon.

The M6 north of Birmingham and parts of the M1 and A61 were also heavily congested.

Meanwhile, a multi-vehicle accident on the A14 caused lane closures, slowing traffic in Suffolk.

But there was a glimmer of hope for those in no rush to leave - traffic is expected to ease tomorrow afternoon and it should be quieter on the roads by lunch time.

"We will probably have a morning rush, so after 12pm is probably the best time to set off," Mr Smith said.

The Highways Agency has completed some roadworks but restrictions remained in place at 32 locations, including two sections of the M25.

There were also works on the M48 in Chepstow, Wales, and the M62 near Leeds.

The RAC predicted bank holiday Monday evening and Tuesday morning would also be busy.

Meanwhile, a total of 840,000 people are expected to pass through Heathrow over the weekend with today being the busiest day.

Heathrow's five busiest destinations over the holiday period are New York, Dubai, Paris, Dublin and Los Angeles.

Travel organisation Abta said about 1.8 million Britons would leave the country between Friday and Monday. A total of 136,000 will be leaving from Stansted Airport and 65,000 from Luton.

Hundreds of thousands will also leave through regional airports including 145,000 from Manchester, 25,000 from Leeds Bradford, 12,000 from Southampton and 65,000 from Birmingham. In Scotland 116,000 will be flying out from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Some 120,000 passengers will travel over the weekend with Channel Tunnel train company Eurostar.

Passengers on domestic rail services will have to contend with some restrictions due to engineering work, but there will be almost 30% fewer replacement bus services needed than the same period last year.

Upgrade work will affect Tube services this weekend, with the entire Victoria line shut on Saturday and Sunday and the Jubilee line part-closed on Sunday and completely closed on bank holiday Monday.

The Jubilee disruption will mean cricket fans travelling to Lord's for the England-Pakistan Test will not be able to use St John's Wood - the nearest station to the ground - for the fourth and fifth days of the match.