The great bank holiday getaway began today - and experts were predicting travel chaos.

Delays and jams are expected on roads into Brighton and Hove as thousands flock to the coast on the busiest weekend of the year.

Network Rail is shutting three of the busiest lines for repairs, with a knock-on effect on the roads. Sections of the M23 were already at a standstill today as the first of the expected 500,000 sun-seekers headed for Gatwick.

Major roadworks were also causing delays on the A23 near Preston Park which are expected to build as weekend tourists arrive.

Albion fans travelling to Barnsley tomorrow have been told to set off early.

Parts of the East Coast mainline linking London and the North will be closed forcing displaced rail passengers to join their trains.

Services are also expected to be packed with extra passengers heading for the Test match at Headingly and a music festival in Leeds.

The M1, the main route for Albion fans travelling by car, will be jammed with long stretches of lane closures and roadworks.

Fans are advised to leave the M1 at junction 32 sign-posted for Sheffield and Leeds, and follow the A628 to Barnsley.

The AA has predicted that traffic jams will start to build up this afternoon.

Graham Webb, business manager of AA Roadwatch, said: "Traffic volumes could be extremely high while the rail repairs are being carried out.

"We are encouraging people to leave as early as possible to beat the queues. We predict this will be even worse than a normal bank holiday weekend."

Albion supporters travelling by train are advised to go from Brighton to London Victoria, take a tube to Kings Cross St Pancras. A train goes from St Pancras to Sheffield, changing again for Barnsley.

But a Network Rail spokesman warned: "Trains are likely to be more full than normal so there could well be delays."

An AA spokeswoman advised motorists to expect hold-ups around Gatwick on the M23 and Heathrow on the M25.

Work on the A23 northbound between Crawley and Gatwick is set to cause further misery.

One of today's arrivals was Tony Blair, flying back into Britain with his family after a three-week break at Sir Cliff Richard's Caribbean retreat.

The Prime Minister touched down with his wife Cherie and their four children before being whisked off to Chequers, where he will spend the weekend preparing for his appearance at the Hutton inquiry.