Millions of people have been warned of disruption over the bank holiday weekend, as heavy traffic, rail works and strikes threaten to throw travel plans into disarray.

About 17.6 million getaway trips are expected to be made by car across the UK between Friday and the bank holiday on Monday, the RAC said, urging drivers to set off early or prepare to spend longer in traffic.

For those travelling on England's roads, the RAC said the South East and South West regions could experience some of the worst congestion.

CrossCountry advised rail passengers not to travel on Saturday, ahead of a strike by the RMT union, while Network Rail said several major routes would be closed for engineering works.

Monday is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Large crowds are expected to head to events including London's Notting Hill Carnival, the Reading and Leeds festivals and the Creamfields festival in Cheshire.

Inrix, a transport analytics firm, said the M5 between Bristol and Devon could see the most severe traffic. The stretch from junction 15 north of Bristol to junction 23 for Bridgwater likely to see delays of more than 40 minutes on Friday and Saturday.

Motorists should also brace for hold-ups lasting more than half an hour on Friday on the M20 in Kent - a busy route for crossing the Channel via Dover or Folkestone.

"We're expecting major roads to airports and coastal destinations to be extremely busy, especially the south-east and south-west regions which could end up bearing the brunt of most holiday hold-ups," Nick Mullender, the RAC's mobile servicing and repairs team leader, said. "Anyone planning routes through these areas should set off as early as possible or be prepared to spend longer in traffic."

Network Rail said the "vast majority" of the railway would run this weekend, despite plans to carry out works on more than 260 projects across Britain. But it told passengers to check their journeys in advance to ensure their route would not be affected.

On Sunday, there will be no long-distance services between London King's Cross and Peterborough, disrupting journeys by LNER and Lumo on the East Coast Main Line.

Avanti West Coast will operate a reduced service to and from London Euston - trains between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International will be diverted, adding extra time to journeys between Saturday and Monday.

Some CrossCountry services will also be diverted, which will extend journey times, while London Northwestern services will run to and from Birmingham International only.

CrossCountry is running a reduced timetable over the weekend, with no services on Saturday. Services on Sunday could also be cancelled, it said.

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