BRITAIN’S roads, railways, airports and shopping centres are preparing for one of the busiest days of the year as 22 million people do last-minute shopping or get away.

Twenty million people are also expected to spend £2 billion in the shops today.

They will be joined on the roads and on public transport by a record two million people who are heading for airports and ports. As a result, roads today are likely be the busiest over the holiday period with an estimated 18 million people in 26 million cars.

Traffic jams are expected and road organisations are advising drivers to leave plenty of time for their journeys. Research into insurance claims over the past four years shows that the most likely time to have an accident on Christmas Eve is between noon and 1pm.

The AA said: “Christmas Eve and the return to work on Monday, January 5, are likely to be the busiest days for traffic with the possibility that some roads, such as the M25, could see 25 per cent more traffic than normal. Many people will be finishing work early and heading off to see friends and relatives or making for shopping centres to buy last-minute presents. Many of Britain’s roads are so close to capacity on normal days that any increase in traffic will result in delays.”

The most popular destination for air travellers is New York, helped by a weak dollar. Virgin expects to fly 2,000 people there today. British Airways will fly several hundred thousand more people away this holiday period than last year, with Geneva the most popular short-haul destination followed by Jersey.

The most popular destinations for sunshine are the Canary Islands and southern Spain for short-haul travellers, with Florida and the Caribbean the favourites for long-haul holidaymakers.

The Association of British Travel Agents said that everyone from Eurostar to Heathrow was reporting record figures. Eurostar is expecting 75,000 passengers to travel out of Britain over Christmas and the new year, with most travelling to traditional Christmas markets in Brussels and Disneyland Paris.

BAA estimates that 550,000 will be leaving the UK through its seven airports which include Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Southampton, while 160,000 will fly from Luton, 250,000 from Manchester and 100,000 from Birmingham over the holiday.

Almost 500,000 are expected to travel under or over the Channel to France, the Netherlands and Spain.

Of those not leaving the country, 40 per cent are expected to be out shopping today, spending £2.29 billion, of which £524 million will go on a credit card.

• A fatal accident involving a packed coach caused severe traffic disruption in Surrey last night when the A286 was closed to allow access for emergency services. The person who died was in a Land Rover which collided with the coach near Milford.

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