National Highways is advising all motorists travelling to the capital to allow plenty of extra time as motorways and major A roads around London will be very busy over this weekend of national mourning.

Large numbers of people will travel into the capital during the period of Lying-in-State and the State Funeral and road users have been advised to check their journeys before travel and avoid peak times where possible. People are also being urged to stagger journeys out of the capital after the State Funeral on Monday to avoid the busiest mid-afternoon period.

Most planned closures of motorways – and the majority of those on major A-roads – in and out of London have already been suspended until Tuesday next week to reduce congestion. A similar postponement of planned motorway closures will also apply across the rest of the country from Friday evening and remain in place for the duration of the Bank Holiday weekend.

Service areas on motorways around the network will remain open.

Roads in central London will be subject to extensive closures and drivers have been warned to avoid the area. Those travelling into London should check the TfL website - https://tfl.gov.uk/ for the latest travel advice.

Motorists should also check the National Highways website for information about travelling during the period of mourning. https://nationalhighways.co.uk/

John McNeill, National Highways Service Delivery Manager for the East of England, said: “We are working with our partners to keep our network moving smoothly and to ensure that everyone who is planning to attend the memorial events can do so safely.

“We expect the roads to be busy with people looking to travel into the capital over the weekend. Extra traffic officer patrols will be out on the network to help anyone who might get into difficulty, but it’s important people remember to check their vehicle before setting off.”