The great Christmas getaway begins - and immediately the roads are snarled as 20 MILLION cars are expected to take to the roads

This evening is expected to be the busiest time of the Christmas period as a combination of the usual Friday peak with the start of the school holidays and early break-ups for some workers being blamed. Motorists were already caught up in tailbacks this morning, as several families made attempts to beat the rush, and police reported a steady build-up of traffic across the country. There were three crashes in the space of half an hour in Brighton, East Sussex, this morning and in one incident, six cars were involved in a pile-up at a busy junction of the A23, blocking two lanes while in another incident, a car span off the road.