10m to make Easter getaway

The great Easter getaway began in earnest today, with record numbers expected to take to the roads.

About 10 million motorists are expected on the roads, leaving main routes from London nose to tail with traffic.

The worst-affected roads will be the M25, particularly near Heathrow, and the M4 heading out of London. Other routes likely to be hit include the M1 and A1, the M23 to the south coast and the A303 to the West.

On the railways, Eurostar said this Easter would be its busiest ever. Many passengers were taking an extra two days, heading off today and not returning until Tuesday.

Paul Charles, Eurostar's communications director, said: "We will be carrying over 150,000 passengers this Easter weekend, making it our busiest weekend ever."

Eurostar is running 12 extra trains on both the Paris and Brussels routes from Waterloo International station. Some travellers are connecting with other rail services to destinations such as Lyon, Avignon, Dijon and Bordeaux.

Engineering work is planned on at least four main rail routes out of London. Services from Euston, King's Cross, Waterloo and Paddington will be affected.

About 1.5 million people will be using London's main airports between today and Easter Monday. A planned baggage-handlers' strike has been called off. Meanwhile, ferry passengers to France have been warned they could face delays of up to 12 hours if the weather is poor.