WET CHRISTMAS
Washout tipped as big holiday getaway is hit by jams and rail chaos
TIS the season for a brolly, with bookies now taking bets on Christmas Day being the wettest ever.
Heavy rain will push in to the northwest today and tomorrow, before sweeping south on Monday.
Coral was last night offering 6-4 that it will be the wettest Christmas Day since records began. It is expected to be mild but the bookie has odds of 2-1 for snowfall in Aberdeen, 4-1 in Manchester and 5-1 in London.
As the festive getaway revved up yesterday, people were hit by massive traffic jams and rail disruption. Highways England reported 46 traffic incidents, 15 of them severe, on motorways and main A-roads as 1.3 million holiday drivers joined regular traffic.
On the rail network, a 24-hour strike by Merseyrail staff led to a reduced service. Widespread engineering works are planned and Great Western Railway warned that works taking place at Paddington will hit services until December 27. The West Coast main line will not run between Preston and Lancaster over the same period.
Abta’s Mark Tanzer advised: “The roads will be exceptionally busy so allow extra time for journeys, and on public transport check for line closures and engineering work.”