70mph storm threat amid chaos of the great Easter getaway

DRIVERS were today warned to expect lengthy delays at start of the great Easter getaway as Storm Nelson threatened to lash the UK with gales of up to 70mph.

More than 14 million trips were expected to take place over the Easter weekend, with transport analysis company Inrix predicting that this afternoon would see the worst congestion.

Spanish-named Storm Nelson was also due to bring winds of up to 50mph in London. Meanwhile, residents in parts of Devon were shocked to see heavy snow last night. It fell across a wide area of the county, including around Dartmoor National Park in south Devon, and Exmoor in the north.

The RAC warned that journeys on popular routes could take twice as long as the bank holiday weekend coincided with the start of the school holidays.

The busiest route was expected to be the western section of the M25 between the M23 for Gatwick and M1 in Hertfordshire. Journeys on this stretch from 4pm today were expected to take over two hours, which was more than twice as long as usual. RAC Breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson said: “Anyone who can delay leaving on Thursday until much later in the evening, or set off as early as possible on Good Friday, is likely to have a better journey than those who travel during the peak periods of the day.

“Lengthy queues can be expected along routes to the usual hotspots like the West Country, Lake District and south coast, especially during the middle of the day when most people make trips.”

Airports and airlines expect the numbers flying over the bank holiday weekend and school holidays to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Network Rail urged train passengers to check their journey details before they travel as some major routes will be closed for engineering work. The Main Line between Euston and Milton Keynes will be shut for four days from tomorrow.

Visit England chief executive Patricia Yates said: “Tourism businesses and destinations will be looking to the critical Easter weekend for much-needed cash flow after the lean winter months so it’s really encouraging to see so many of us are planning a holiday at home.”