Queues start here for the wet and mild 16-day break

High street stores slash prices in last-ditch sales push

BRITAIN faces travel chaos this weekend as families start what could be a 16-day Christmas holiday.

The getaway combined with the start of school holidays, the usual end-of-week traffic and roadworks will lead to jams as more than 14 million motorists hit the road.

Queues were already building last night on major routes, including the M25 and the A14 near Cambridge.

Traffic is expected to be heavy today and tomorrow with drivers seeking to avoid more typical peaks by travelling over the weekend, combined with those heading for high street sales.

Highways England is planning to remove about 400 miles of roadworks from December 23 before the return to work on January 4.

But Pete Williams, a spokesman for the RAC, described the number on major motorways this year as ‘unprecedented’.

Major train routes will also be closed over some of the holiday period, including the West Coast Main Line between Stafford and Crewe and trains from London Liverpool Street to East Anglia. Services from London to Heathrow and Gatwick will also be shut.

The Gatwick Express from London Victoria was held up last night by a broken-down train.

The frustration for some travellers was summed up by Chuka Umunna, the Labour MP, who branded the service provided by Southern Trains and network Rail across London and the South East an ‘appalling joke’.

There were further problems at Gatwick last night when passengers were force to evacuate the north Terminal after a fire alarm went off in a restaurant. It led to dozens of delays – some for as long as three hours.

The Association of British Travel Agents said that yesterday, December 23 and December 30 would be the busiest travel dates for those heading abroad for Christmas. Four million people are expected to fly out of the UK between now and the new Year.

It is predicted that 900,000 will depart from Gatwick, 500,000 from Stansted and 400,000 from Manchester. Some 600,000 will fly out of Heathrow between today and Christmas Day.

For those left behind, the Met Office has issued weather warnings despite what it said had been the fourth mildest start to December in Britain since 1960. Parts of the north-West – including Cumbria – already devastated by floods caused by Storm Desmond are facing another deluge.

There is a yellow warning for rain in west and southern Scotland from 3pm today until 10am tomorrow, with 2.5 inches of rain expected on higher ground. An overnight warning is also in place from 6pm tomorrow for South Wales and the north West, where up to three inches of rain could cause flooding. The warning stops for Scotland tomorrow but continues in the north West and north Wales until Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Met Office predicted that temperatures, which hit 13C (55.4F) yesterday, double the December average, would be ‘exceptionally mild’ at 17C (65F) today.

A band of tropical air coming off the Atlantic from the south-west was behind the unseasonal conditions,

Temperatures have been edging towards the all-time December high of 18.3C ( 65F), set in 1948 in the Highlands.

Cumbria facing another deluge

SHOPPERS are set for a bonanza today as desperate stores make their biggest Christmas price cuts since 2008 to woo them on Panic Saturday.

Some 12.6million customers are expected to hit high streets and malls to splash out £1.1billion on the last Saturday before the big day.

It is usually shoppers in a panic to buy all their presents but this year, for a change, the pressure is on retail bosses.

Three in four stores are running sales or promotions to lure back those who have ditched them to buy online.

Experts warn that some stores are so weighed down with unsold stock that this will be their last Christmas.

Fashion chains are suffering most as the mild weather means they are laden with woollens, coats and boots. Lots of other ‘ bricks and mortar’ outlets are carrying merchandise, such as flatscreen TVs, which did not sell on Black Friday.

Figures from accountants Deloitte show that the average discount this weekend is 45 per cent.

It said these are the biggest festive cuts since 2008 during the fallout from the financial crash. Some major chains, such as H&M, are already promoting ‘ up to 70 per cent’ off and others will follow suit.

Gap has stepped up its sale with discounts of up to 60 per cent while Marks & Spencer is promoting price cuts of 30-50 per cent.

Most fashion and shoe chains are running window banners promising price cuts of 50 per cent.

Department stores like House of Fraser and Debenhams have sales events with savings of 40 per cent and more on gifts, coats and many other lines. This has dragged in John Lewis as it keeps to its pledge to be ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’.

This week, Bonmarché issued a shock profit warning, citing ‘very challenging’ conditions. Shore Capital analyst Clive Black warned that the fashion chain was unlikely to be the last retailer to do this. David Oliver, retail partner at accountants PwC, said: ‘The level of promotional activity has picked up significantly, with many retailers counting on a big final pre-Christmas weekend.

‘The continued strength of the shift to online has taken some by surprise and they will find themselves holding too much stock.

‘They may find it cheaper to sell at a discount in store, rather than moving stock to fulfil online demand. The mild weather will be a concern to clothing retailers so expect to see further sale activity as savvy shoppers hold out for pre-Christmas bargains.’

President of MasterCard UK & Ireland, Mark Barnett, said, despite the shift to online: ‘High streets and malls still dominate with four out of five pounds spent offline.

‘Last year, consumers left their shopping late and we expect many to do the same this year, with the next four days forecast to be the biggest shopping days of the year.’

Respected retail analyst Richard Hyman believes underlying sales are at their worst for ten years.

He said: ‘After 12 months of relentless discounting, retail is weak. Next year will be painful and some are trading through their last Christmas. Many will enter 2016 with too much stock and too little cash.’

The prediction from the Centre for Retail Research that 12.6million will hit the shops today is down around 3 per cent on the equivalent Saturday last year.

It believes this reflects how 3.6million consumers will avoid the crowds by shopping online today.

In the past, shoppers switched to stores in the final days amid fears items would not arrive in time.

But web retailers claim to have improved deliveries and ‘click and collect’ so they can buy online all the way through to Christmas.

‘Savvy shoppers holding out’