Super Saturday: Caravan queues on M5 as 10 million motorists hit the road for holiday trips after lockdown eased

Now that restrictions will be eased, millions of people are planning to enjoy trips to other parts of the country.

Most will be using private cars rather than public transport to avoid being infected by coronavirus.

An RAC poll found that a third of all drivers in the UK will leave their homes this weekend for overnight stays.

A fifth of drivers - equal to 6.5 million - will stay with friends and family, while about two million will enjoy breaks at campsites.

One million will stay in hotels, bed and breakfasts or similar accommodation while 680,000 will be at caravan sites.

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: "These figures suggest that after 15 weeks of lockdown, a large proportion of drivers in England are desperate to reconnect with friends, family and indeed nature by staying overnight, be that in a house or on a camping or caravan site.

"This could lead to some busy conditions on the roads, with the location of queues likely to be dependent on just how far people travel - motorways and major A-roads could end up taking the brunt of the traffic if people have longer distances to drive to see family and friends or to take a weekend break.

"While our research suggests weekend traffic could be the heaviest of the year so far, a breakdown has the potential to make matters even worse."

The RAC surveyed 1,400 British drivers for its poll.

But not everyone was happy about the sudden rush to the coast.

Lorry driver Luke was caught up on the A30 and said: "It's absolutely crazy. We can't pull into any lay-bys because there are caravans in there.

"Every car going past in the fast lane is literally full of canoes, camping gear, trailer tents."

An Exeter resident caught up in the dash to the seaside said: "Avoid the M5 southbound. It's like a caravan park."

And one resident in village of Ide on the popular holiday route to Cornwall and Devon said: "For the first time in months you could hear the sound of traffic on these main routes from early in the morning.

"They have been so quiet since lockdown but Saturday saw the build up of caravans, campers and people in their cars with canoes on the roof racks and trailers."

Some popular tourist spots have banned cars and closed roads to allow for social distancing.

And last week, cops were forced to close the road leading to Camber Sands beach in East Sussex due to heavy traffic.

The queues for the car park were so long that police closed the main road leading to the beach on Thursday.

Drivers queued for more than a mile on narrow roads to get to the beach a day before.