Warning of delays this Christmas with drivers set to make 21 MILLION leisure trips between today and Christmas Eve

• Congestion is likely to peak on Friday as commuters meet leisure travellers

Drivers are expected to make 21million leisure trips between today and Christmas Eve, leading to warnings of huge delays.

Traffic will climb slowly at the start of the week before rising from 2.2million trips on Thursday to 3.2million on Friday.

Some 13.5million leisure journeys by car are expected between Friday and Christmas Eve, up 20 per cent on the equivalent period last year.

Congestion is likely to peak on Friday, as drivers embarking on getaway trips compete for road space with commuters and business traffic, the RAC said.

Transport analysis company Inrix warned there are likely to be ‘daily delays of around 40 minutes’ between Friday and Christmas Eve on the M25 clockwise to the west of London.

Traffic is set to peak by Friday, as commuters share the roads with leisure travellers. Daily delays of around 40 minutes are expected on the M25 clockwise between Friday and Christmas Eve (file photo)

It predicted the worst queues on the motorway network will be on the M25 clockwise between junction 7, for the M23 to Gatwick, and junction 16, for the M40 to Birmingham, on Friday.

Other motorway stretches identified as potential hotspots include the M1 north from Woburn to Daventry and the M6 south from Wigan to Stafford.

During the weekend before Christmas, between 12pm and 2pm is expected to be the busiest time to travel on the roads and drivers are advised to set out before 11am or after 6pm. 

RAC spokesman Alice Simpson said: ‘Since Christmas falls on a Monday this year, there’s no need for drivers to use annual leave for getaway trips as they can travel over the weekend before. 

For that very reason, our research suggests these days will be the busiest times to drive, so we urge people to set off as early as possible on Saturday and Sunday.’

Peak travel times next weekend are expected to be between 12 and 2pm, with drivers advised to set off either before 11am and after 6pm

To limit congestion, National Highways said it will remove more than 1,000 miles of roadworks on England’s motorways and major A roads by 6am tomorrow.

Trips by train also face festive delays due to engineering work.

London Paddington will be closed between Christmas Eve and December 27 and King’s Cross will be closed on Christmas Eve.

Meanwhile Heathrow Airport expects 6.5million passengers will travel through its terminals this month.

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