Travel chaos on M1 as football fans drive to FA Cup final at Wembley

• Are YOU in traffic going to Wembley? Email milo.pope.mol@mailonline.co.uk
• 21C temperatures are forecast and families are expected to flock to the beaches

The Bank Holiday has been thrown into chaos as football fans driving to the FA Cup final at Wembley have become stuck in traffic jams after a ‘major incident’.

With 21C temperatures forecast and families expected to flock to beaches and parks to enjoy the sunny weather, the roads appear to be in gridlock much to the frustration of passengers.

As fans make their way to Wembley to watch Manchester City take on Manchester United, just hours before kick off huge queues were reported.

One fan posted a picture on X of people standing outside their cars on the M1, writing the caption: ‘Little warning to those heading down to Wembley on the M1. Been stuck at Leicester for 30 minutes. Looks like a major incident. 

‘Nothing coming northbound, either. Huge queues. City and United fans out of their cars trying to figure out what’s going on.’

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Earlier today, it was revealed that railway thieves tried to steal signalling cables sparking disruption to train services over the busiest late May long weekend since Covid.

The attempted heist between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton meant that trains were forced to run at a reduced speed yesterday morning, with ticket-holders being diverted to other rail companies. 

And despite the disruption finally being freed in the early hours of today, National Rail have said the disruption has re-occurred this morning and trains are expected to be affected until at least 1pm this afternoon. 

While the rail disruption was first hoped to be cleared by 10am yesterday, an additional points failure has meant that the delays have continued into this morning.

Describing today’s attempted theft, National Rail warned: ‘Attempted theft of signalling cables between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton means that trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines.

‘Trains running between these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or diverted.

‘Network Rail staff are working to repair the damaged cables.’

The Met Office is predicting temperatures to reach the low 20s Celsius in the southeast of the country this afternoon in what is likely to be the best day to head out for some spring sun.

People in the capital will get the chance to top up their suntans over the bank holiday with London seeing highs of 21C on Saturday, while the midlands, the north and Wales will reach a pleasant 19C, according to the forecaster.

For much of the weekend, swathes of the UK will be bathed in sunshine as the good weather sticks around for the second bank holiday of the month.

While it may seem summer has come early, forecasters have urged people to get out while they can as less settled conditions, including potential thunderstorms, arrive later on in the weekend.

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But the warm weather is set to come to a grinding halt by the second half of the weekend with the heat dropping to around 15C for most of the country with the southeast also cooling down to 19C.

But on Bank Holiday Monday, the wet weather is expected to continue with showers across the UK and even a chance of some very heavy rain in the north of England and Scotland.

Despite a potentially thundery end to the weekend, the Met Office currently has no weather warnings in place – although the forecaster confirmed today it is keeping the ‘situation under review’.

More than 20million leisure trips by car are expected to be made over the bank holiday, which would be the most for the late May weekend since 2019. 

Drivers leaving yesterday were advised to delay setting off until 6pm to miss the worst of the queues, while the busiest time tomorrow is expected to be 3pm until 6pm. 

P&O Ferries warned of ‘long queues at border controls’ at Dover, adding: ‘If you miss your sailing, we will transfer you to the next available once at our check-in booths.’ 

Transport analytics company Inrix warned that journeys on the M25 clockwise between Junction 7 for the M23 and Junction 21 for the M1 are expected to be delayed by more than 90 minutes in the late afternoon of today.

Delays are anticipated to reach an hour on a 45-mile southbound stretch of the M5 – a popular holiday route – from Junction 16 north of Bristol to Junction 25 for Taunton, Somerset.

Other routes from cities to coasts are expected to have some of the worst delays as drivers head to the seaside to enjoy the warmer weather.

There will also be disruption to train services this weekend as Network Rail carries out engineering projects, with services on the West Coast Main Line set to be reduced due to work around Crewe and Carlisle.

Trains will also be affected by track renewals between Carstairs and Lanark in Scotland, while there will be significant changes to services on the Great Eastern Main Line because of work building a new station at Beaulieu Park to the east of Chelmsford.

RAC spokeswoman Alice Simpson said: ‘Our research suggests this weekend could be the busiest of the year so far on the roads, with millions of people embarking on getaway trips to make the most of the three days and, for those with school age children, the start of the half-term holiday. 

‘In fact, we’re looking at possible leisure traffic volumes returning to levels similar to what we last saw in 2019 before the coronavirus outbreak, as drivers’ desire to make the most of the UK increases.

‘And, in those places where the warm spring sunshine makes its presence felt, the number of people deciding to get behind the wheel and head for the coast or countryside will only go up, swelling the overall volume of cars on the roads.’

The RAC expects traffic volumes to remain consistently high throughout the long weekend as 3.7million trips are expected to take place today, while 3.4million journeys are anticipated on both Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday.

A further 5.7million leisure trips by car are planned at some point throughout the long weekend.

It comes after more than 22million drivers hit the road during the same period in 2019 – meaning the volume of getaways this year could reach 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. 

Inrix transportation analyst Bob Pishue said: ‘With near-record number of travellers expected to be on the roads over the holiday period, drivers should be prepared for long delays, especially in and around major cities and towards the coasts.

‘The best general advice to anyone spending time away from home this weekend is to travel as early or as late in the day as possible to avoid the worst delays.’