Gridlocked roads leave tailbacks as people travel home on Easter Monday

The RAC warned of “carmageddon” ahead of the Easter Break and predicted long queues and heavy traffic

Drivers have been hit by gridlocked roads and tailbacks across the UK as people head home at the end of the four-day Easter weekend.

An estimated two million holidaymakers are making return journeys today, with the worst congestion expected in the southwest of England.

It comes after the RAC warned of “carmageddon” ahead of the Easter break and said heavy traffic and long queues could be expected.

Tailbacks were seen on the M5 between Bristol and Taunton, with tailbacks reported on the A102M Blackwall tunnel in Greenwich, southeast London.

On some parts of the M5 traffic clogged up to a crawl of 16mph, with 30-minute delays across many of the home counties.

Motorway traffic on the M5 motorway near Weston-super-Mare, Somerset (Ben Birchall/PA Wire)

A major traffic accident also took place this afternoon between Junctions 23 and 24 of the M60, just outside of Denton, Greater Manchester.

The “serious” incident forced the motorway to close in both directions, as an air ambulance was been spotted at the scene.

On Good Friday, queues of 15 to 20 miles built up on the M4 and M5 interchange near Bristol, which added 45 minutes to journey times.

The western side of the M25 London orbital motorway was described as “pretty bad” and “a lot worse than normal”, with 40-minute queues.

The RAC said holidaymakers heading south were behind much of the congestion after forecasters predicted sunny spells over the next few days.

Motorway traffic on the M5 motorway near Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, (Ben Birchall/PA Wire)

RAC spokesperson Simon Williams said: “Everyone’s heading to Devon and Cornwall – that’s the attraction, and there’s been a bit of better weather. It’s causing some pretty horrendous queues.”

The M20 in Kent was also busy, with congestion approaching Folkestone on the coast. There were also hold-ups on the A628 between Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire after two separate accidents, National Highways reported.

Tourist board VisitEngland said around 11 million people in the UK were planning an overnight Easter trip, generating an estimated £3.2bn for the economy.

Around 14 million trips by road are estimated to have been made over the weekend, a survey by the RAC and transport analysis company Inrix suggested.