A vast army of travellers is heading off for Christmas as the holiday season kicks off to a wet and windy start.

The Automobile Association says three-quarters of the cars in the country will take to the roads at some point over the next week.

Slow progress on the A40 in Shepherd's Bush

But wind, rain and sheer weight of traffic are making it slow going for those joining family and friends for the festivities.

The BBC has issued a flash weather warning for Wales and south-east England, with winds up to 75mph causing hazardous driving conditions.

BBC correspondent Jo Paley reports on one of the busiest travel times

Most motorways are packed with vehicles, with an accident on the M25 in Surrey and the closure of the M4 in south Wales due to high winds adding to the problems.

"Surface water is making life difficult for drivers and we are urging caution in the wet conditions," said an AA spokesman.

Many workers left early to beat the evening rush hour while others simply took Christmas Eve off.

Most roadworks are suspended for holidays to ease congestion

Roadworks across Britain have been suspended to ease congestion. A Highways Agency information line (tel: 0345 504030) gives the latest details of motorway delays.

Rail services are closing down earlier than normal, with just the Gatwick Express due to operate on Christmas Day. Most train companies will not operate on Boxing Day, either.

Winter warmer

Many people are also heading towards Britain's airports in a bid to find some winter warmth.

Heathrow, London's main airport, is handling about 115,000 passengers on Christmas Eve, after 140,000 passed through on Tuesday.

Heading for sunnier climes ...

Gatwick, the UK's biggest holiday airport, is expecting to handle 900,000 passengers from December 22 until January 4 - a 30% increase on the same period last year.

Thomson Holidays said 30,000 people would be leaving on its foreign packages between December 23 and 26.

The most popular short-haul destinations this Christmas are Tenerife, Spain's Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol, Majorca, Lanzarote.

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