People who wanted to take advantage of Boxing Day sales were not able to get around by train (Pictures: Reuters, LNP)
Motorists faced traffic chaos after rail strikes forced Boxing Day bargain-hunters and football fans onto the roads.
Some motorway traffic crawled along at just 15mph, with an estimated 15.2 million cars on the road today.
December 26 is usually a busy one, with people returning from relatives’ homes, rushing to Boxing Day sales and heading out for sporting events.
But today is the second consecutive day of rail stikes, with members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union walking out over pay and conditions.
AA said delays were building as early as 10am, with ‘some serious delays on the M25 and the M6’ by noon.
A spokesperson said he was surprised to see how much disruption took place today, despite expecting roads to be busy.
He went on: ‘When you look up the west side of the M25 and then up the M1, and then particularly from the north of Birmingham up the M6, it has been pretty unpleasant at midday.
There were so many cars on the road that traffic slowed to 15mph at one point (Picture: LNP)
Many people flocked to London’s Oxford Street for Boxing Day sales (Picture: PA)
People had to queue outside Harrods in Knightsbridge, London, to get in (Picture: PA)
‘We expected heavy traffic but when you see it in reality, where the traffic information is talking about traffic moving at 20mph and 15mph, it just indicates unpleasant traffic conditions for anyone travelling on those particular motorways.’
Hold-ups on the A303 around Stonehenge were blamed on people heading back from Christmas Day celebrations and sporting events.
This morning saw the UK high streets’ footfall rise by 59.4% from December 26 last year, according to industry analyst Springboard.
Footfall in shopping centres was up by by 46.6% and in retail parks by 33.7%.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said a likely factor in the increase was Boxing Day 2021 fell on a Sunday rather than a weekday, but added that the latest figures ‘provide real reason for optimism amongst retailers’.
December has been struck with industrial action throughout December (Picture: EPA)
Many football fans also braved the travel chaos to watch their favourite team (Picture: Shutterstock)
She said: ‘Whilst the bounce back from the pandemic is a key reason for the increased footfall, a further boost to footfall is likely to have been provided by the fact that Boxing Day in 2021 was on a Sunday.
‘This meant a number of stores were closed and some would have had reduced trading hours.
‘As the day progresses, we are likely to see a smaller increase in footfall from 2021, however, given the scale of the uplift already recorded, the increase in activity from last year will remain significant.
‘Footfall has undoubtedly been helped by the calm and sunny weather, which will have encouraged consumers to make trips out.
‘These results provide real reason for optimism amongst retailers, as these results come in the face of another rail strike and the underlying challenge of the cost-of-living crisis.’
Many football fans will also have been left with no option but to drive to Boxing Day matches.
But AA said motorists in the UK are generally used to the ‘ritual’ of busy roads at such times of the year.
He said: ‘I think the reality of driving in the UK is that you will run into congestion. It’s all part of what you might call the UK Bank Holiday ritual that you all get stuck in traffic at some stage.’
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An estimated 15.2 million cars on the road today.
