Millions of motorists were facing a double Easter headache on Britain’s roads today – driving snow and bank holiday gridlock.

See also: Signs point to snowy Easter

Roads across the country ground to a halt as many families returned home from the early Easter break in time to get their children back to school tomorrow. And Arctic weather conditions added to the misery as snow swept across large parts of the country.

The heaviest snow was seen in parts of north east England, Yorkshire and Staffordshire

This year’s early Easter has meant many children return to school tomorrow rather than enjoying the usual long holiday.

Shropshire Star weatherman John Warner today said the county was likely to escape any more snow but warned motorists could face icy conditions on the roads – particularly tonight.He said: “Shropshire missed most of the snow yesterday. There was about an inch in the hills but it mostly fell in Staffordshire.

“There’s a bit of rain and sleet around this morning but that should clear away.

“Tonight there will be a sharp frost and so it will be quite icy with one or two wintry showers.

“In the following days, it should slowly become less cold so I do not think there will be any more snow.”

Mr Warner said Thursday would be the mildest day, with temperatures reaching 11C (52F).

An RAC spokesman said motorists needed to be prepared before taking to the roads.

He said: “Around 16 million people will have set off from Maundy Thursday through to Easter Sunday – and now there’s a deadline to be met, so many of these millions will be heading home.

“In the past, return journeys have been much more staggered.”

He said he expected traffic to be spread throughout the day more than it was on Thursday afternoon when motorways were a “nightmare”.

But he said there could be delays around late morning, when many people choose to set off.

As well as the school rush, the RAC said economic fears have forced Britons to shun foreign holidays for trips in the UK.

And with fewer trains running during the break, there has been a surge in traffic volumes on the roads.

There are no scheduled road closures today but a major setback for holidaymakers returning to Luton Airport will be roadworks from Junction 6 to 10 on the M1 on both carriageways, which the RAC said can cause long tailbacks as traffic moves at about 50mph.

Network Rail has undertaken a “huge amount” of engineering work across Britain over the Bank Holiday weekend.

More than 6,000 people are involved in the £75 million day and night works, which consist of 30 projects including laying new track, repairing bridges and updating signalling systems, Network Rail said.

The track operator said the majority of the works are due to be completed by tomorrow.

After a wintry Easter weekend, forecasters said it was unlikely snow would add to the problems today.

Police described “horrendous” conditions yesterday as snow fell on the earliest Easter Sunday for nearly a century.

By Rebecca Lawrence