Heavy traffic expected on our roads today (Friday)

Millions of people are expected to take to the roads and rail network to see relatives for Christmas

THE AA has warned that the M4 between Newbury and London will be one of the busiest stretches of road in the country today (Friday) with people driving home for Christmas.

A total of 18 million cars will take to the roads during the festive period with journey times on major routes likely to double today, according to the AA.

This year, around 1.7 million festive travellers will be leaving from Heathrow airport with delays expected on the M4.

A spokesman for the company said: “We are expecting Friday lunchtime and early afternoon to be very busy.

"Lots of people will take half a day or employers will exercise goodwill so people will leave early. There will be a later rush hour on Friday evening going well past 8pm and there will be an overspill on to Christmas Eve with people leaving early on Saturday morning."

Scattered showers expected throughout the district today may also add to journey times.

Other major routes, such as the M1 in Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire, the M25 around London, and the M5 in the West Country are also expected to be packed with motorists.

The Highways Agency, which is responsible for England's motorways and major A-roads, said it planned to complete more than 500 miles of roadworks before Christmas while a further 60 miles will be suspended from Friday until January 3.

On the rail network, buses are replacing trains on many routes over Christmas and new year.

As much as £109m of work is being done on the network over the holiday period, with projects including Reading train station.