Christmas getaway leaves London a ghost town

The effects of the great Christmas getaway were seen on the deserted streets of London today.

Millions of holidaymakers have left the capital in the past few days, with a record number travelling abroad for Christmas and New Year. Pall Mall and Buckingham Palace this morning had only a dozen cars driving by and Park Lane was virtually empty.

Meanwhile, a record 1.9 million Britons are travelling abroad. Hundreds of thousands flew out to their destinations yesterday.

Long queues were still building up at check-in desks today as travellers headed off for the sun.

On the railways, a spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said services on all major routes out of London today were now almost fully booked.

All services will finish early tonight with passengers advised to complete their journeys by 10pm at the latest.

National rail services will close on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, the only exceptions being the Heathrow Express, Eurostar and a few South Eastern Trains which will run on Boxing Day. There will be an hourly service between Victoria and Ashford via Tonbridge, Victoria to Gillingham via Bromley South and Victoria to Orpington via Bromley South.