DRIVERS faced long traffic delays throughout yesterday afternoon and early evening as the Easter holiday getaway moved into full swing.

While Worcester itself escaped the brunt of holiday traffic, the good weather brought chaos to the surrounding motorways.

There were more than 20 miles of tailbacks on the M6 northbound at around 5pm with the worst section from junction 10a, the M54 turn to junction 6 at Spaghetti Junction.

At the same time the M5 northbound as it joins the M6 was snarled up from junction 2 at Rounds Green.

Commuters heading for the West Country, on the M5 southbound, also hit delays around J13 near Stroud and onwards up towards Bristol.

Matthew Sparks, of AA Roadwatch, said it was people on long haul journeys suffering from traffic congestion, with regional motorways only began to slowly clear around 7.30pm. He was expecting more delays today, up until early afternoon.

"Traffic generally wasn't bad around Worcester, but on the surrounding motorway networks it was extremely heavy," he said.

"The fine weather has definitely brought more people out on to the roads, but unfortunately we do see an increase in road accidents during sunny weather.

"We're reminding drivers not to become tempted to put their foot down and to drive sensibly and carefully."

He said places of interest, such as Worcester and the Malvern Hills should expect extra traffic from day-trippers.

The Highways Agency was suspending its road maintenance, wherever possible, to keep lanes open during the Easter bank holiday.