Road jams build up as Easter looms

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While the first of around two million travellers took trains, boats and planes to sunnier climes, those left at home were contemplating a holiday period with cold north winds expected to bring rain, sleet and snow.

Motoring organisations predicted this could be the worst Easter yet for road congestion, while rail travellers - who will have to contend with windy and wintry waits at stations - were being hit by delays and cancellations due to extensive engineering work.

Passenger groups and politicians warned Network Rail (NR) there could be no repeat of the damaging engineering overruns at the New Year which prompted rail regulators to fine the group a record £14 million.

With Easter falling at its earliest for nearly 100 years and taking place just one day off the earliest it can possibly be held, forecasters said that snow could be expected over the holiday period.

"The biggest chance of widespread snow is on Easter Sunday, when snow showers could even reach as far south as London," said Brendan Jones, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association.

He went on: "It's going to be fairly windy over Easter, but there will at least be bright spells on Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday.

"Easter Sunday, though, is going to feel pretty horrible. There could be several centimetres of snow in some areas and temperatures are only going to reach 5-6C (41-43F).

"It would have been better if Easter had been even earlier. If it had been held in February the weather would have been quite nice."

MeteoGroup said that among Easters in the last 100 years that have had snow were 1908, 1958, 1983, 1986, 1994 and 1998.