THOUSANDS of holidaymakers heading for the coast were left steaming in traffic queues yesterday.

With temperatures rising to 22C (72F), forecasters said that many people had spent the best day of the Bank Holiday weekend sitting in jams on blocked roads.

The weather across most of the country today is expected to be a more usual April mix of drizzle, cloud and showers, with snow and sleet predicted for the Welsh hills. The warm weather earlier in the week will make the sharp drop in temperatures feel even worse.

The exodus to the beach sparked a series of lifeboat rescues and public safety warnings from Scotland to the South Coast. Coastguards towed Jimmy Creith, 8, back to dry land after his inflatable boat was swept out to sea off the Firth of Clyde, and lifeboats reached a family of seven, including a ten-month-old baby, just in time when their motorboat lost power, started taking in water and began to sink off the Isle of Arran.

Soaring temperatures sparked different problems in Glasgow as children vandalised fire hydrants in an attempt to cool down. Further south, firefighters were called out to a spate of Easter-related incidents, including a blaze at a chocolate Easter egg factory. By the time that the fire at Lycroft Farm in Swanmore, Hampshire, was brought under control, the entire supply of Easter cakes and eggs, which had been awaiting delivery, had melted or been destroyed.

Emergency services were also called to two fatal accidents in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and Stevenage in Hertfordshire, both of which closed holiday routes for several hours.

A motorcyclist from the West Midlands was killed when he crashed into the back of a lorry parked in a lay-by in Buckinghamshire.

An elderly couple were killed when their car careered into a field and then overturned on the A1(M). They were certified dead at the scene by an off-duty doctor who had stopped to help.

Some of the worst delays of the day were on the M5 around Bristol, where 15-mile tailbacks were exacerbated by the closure of train lines out of Paddington, West London.

The AA warned motorists to take plenty of food and water and to prepare for long delays.

Hotels and country cottages nationwide were fully booked. About 2.6 million Britons are expected to spend a night or more away this weekend, spending £400 million.

A further 1.8 million people have already flown abroad, making the most of the recent drop in the price of flights. Most had headed for Spain, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Turkey. Others have flown to the Caribbean.

Stephen Bath, president of the Association of British Travel Agents, said: “The travel industry has gone through a very difficult period in the past few months. However, I am delighted to see that holidaymakers have not allowed the current situation to put them off taking a well-earned break this Easter and are travelling in greater numbers than ever.”

Weather forecasters said that conditions were getting worse. A PA WeatherCentre forecaster said: “Although reports of snow over the holiday period have been blown out of proportion, it will start to feel distinctly cooler.

“There is a risk of sleet and snow showers over the Welsh mountains and the deterioration of temperatures will seem much worse because of the lovely weather that we’ve had this week.”

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