Gridlock on the roads, snow and delays on the trains - Britain facing its worst ever Easter for traffic congestion

source: Dail Mail UK5)

The congestion peak is expected from midday tomorrow, when motorists are advised to allow 50 per cent more time for their journeys.

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And to add to the misery, a Siberian cold snap is due to hit Britain tomorrow.

Northerly winds will sweep in with wintry showers.

One reason for the expected crush is that many schools have reorganised their holidays, and the early Easter falls in term time.

As a result parents will be making a getaway as soon as school ends tomorrow, and traffic is also expected to be heavy late on Easter Monday as families rush back for school again on Tuesday.

Another factor is that amidst fears about the credit crunch, holidaymakers are shunning foreign shores in favour of holidays in Britain.

RAC research has shown nearly half of motorists are less likely to travel abroad this Easter compared with last year.

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Gridlock: This Easter is expected to have the worst ever traffic congestion

The AA's Routeplanner said key destinations would include Alton Towers, Longleat, Thorpe Park, Legoland, Drayton Manor and

Warwick Castle as well as Brighton, Bournemouth and Blackpool and the historic cities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Neil Thompson, from the RAC, said: "Easter is always one of our busiest periods of the year, but this Easter's getaway is expected to be more intense as motorists shun foreign travel in favour of domestic driving holidays.

"This combined with the short break for Easter will lead to a nightmare Maundy Thursday for motorists especially if the bad weather hits.

"Our advice is to leave extra time for journeys and, where possible, try to get away a few hours early to beat the rush."

AA patrolman of the year Adam Ashmore said: "Motorists might be under the impression that, due to the very early timing of Easter this year and the fragmentation of school holidays, the roads will be much quieter than usual, but we don't expect this to be the case.

"This year everyone hitting the road for an Easter break will be setting off at the same time and on similar routes region by region so congestion could potentially be worse than usual."

Tom Wright, chief executive of the national tourism agency VisitBritain, added: "The current economic outlook could mean British resorts are bracing themselves for bumper visitor numbers this Easter.

"Many families with school-age children have only four days to enjoy their Easter break this year so we're going to experience a concentrated few days of domestic travel.

"There's a real opportunity this year for Brits to rediscover what's on their own doorstep - just make sure you leave enough time to get there." Rail passengers face chaos, delays and cancellations to services over Easter as Network Rail carries out engineering work that will see shut-downs, closures and relief bus services on major lines.

After the serious New Year work overruns, Network Rail is under intense pressure to ensure the Easter projects are completed on time.

Euston station in London will be closed to Virgin West Coast services on Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

If the weather conditions are bad, motorists are advised only to make journeys that are necessary and if they do travel to take extra precautions.

They are urged to carry spare warm clothes, food and drink and ensure that mobile phones are fully charged in case of emergency.

Patchy frost is expected on Friday, and parts of Scotland could see temperatures as low as -3c or -4c on Saturday.

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