Bank Holiday travellers hit by road and rail delays

Bank Holiday travellers faced rail and road delays yesterday as forecasters could only promise a 'mixed weather picture' for revellers hoping to enjoy the early May break.

Rail passengers were hit by delays to services ahead of a crippling combination of rail strikes and engineering works that is set to cause chaos over an eight-day period.

Network Rail began carrying out 487 planned projects on Saturday which are expected to last into tomorrow.

Track renewals around Coventry saw no trains running between Birmingham Airport and Rugby/Leamington Spa, while work on the new station at Cambridge South saw disruption on routes around the city.

The most significant disruption comes today when no trains will run between London Euston and Milton Keynes, or between Glasgow and England.

Families planning a weekend getaway over the Bank holiday may find themselves caught in traffic jams as holiday-makers rush to the beach for a change of scenery (File image)

The Met Office is now forecasting a 'mixed picture' with cool winds, cloud and some sunny spells but beach-goers should beware of showers (File image)

Those hoping for a a stree-free weekend away could be hit with major delays as 16 operators launch a six-day ban on overtime tomorrow, which is expected to cause short-notice cancellations

Train services will also be affected by work in Cambridge, Coventry and Liverpool over the bank holiday period.

Network Rail's system operator director Anit Chandarana said: 'We know people want to travel by train and not by replacement bus. We do our best to fit as much work as we can into these closures to minimise the impact on passengers and freight customers.'

The disruption comes as train drivers at 16 operators will launch a six-day ban on overtime tomorrow, which is expected to cause short-notice cancellations.

Aslef union members will also stage three one-day strikes across different operators from Tuesday to Thursday, meaning some parts of the country will have no rail services on those days.

Meanwhile, motorists were warned to expect long delays as millions of people embark on bank holiday getaways.

The RAC said it expected 16 million motorists to make a leisure trip by car over the holiday weekend. 

Parts of the North West, East Anglia and South West are likely to be hardest hit by traffic returning home tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Met Office said temperatures could reach 20C in the sunshine even in northern Scotland over the weekend, but there is a 'mixed picture' overall and cloudy areas are expected to stay between 14C and 15C.

A Met Office spokesperson said the average for this time of year is 17C, adding: 'In the places that stay dry, the sunny temperatures will be a little above average - generally on the warm side in the sunshine.

'There will be sunny spells across the country but variable amounts of clouds and the risk of some rain in places.'