Motorists face long delays over the Easter bank holiday weekend as roadworks, holidaymakers and snow are expected to bring Brighton to a standstill.

The RAC predicted a terrible weekend for traffic congestion, naming Brighton as one of the UK's hot spots.

Major roadworks along some of the city's busiest streets combined with thousands of visitors are predicted to gridlock the city.

Even more visitors than normal are expected to pour in as Britons hit by the credit crunch settle for domestic holidays.

Long tailbacks are expected on Brighton and Hove's seafront due to a series of roadworks along King's Road.

Brighton and Hove City Council confirmed the works - mainly to water pipes - would continue right through the holiday period in an effort to have them finished before the summer.

Tony Mernagh, chairman of Brighton and Hove Economic Parnership, called the situation "unfortunate but unavoidable".

He said: "Given the nature of the roadworks I don't think they would have been able to stop the delays whether workmen are there or not."

Temporary traffic lights on Dyke Road just after the Seven Dials island and on Chatham Place are among other troublehit areas.

The RAC and the AA said they expected the problems to start today as visitors headed into the city.

Meanwhile the Met Office is predicting an icy blast from Siberia will produce wintry showers to add to motorists' woes.

The prospect of around 2cm of snow has not been ruled out, with Saturday the most likely day to be affected.

A spokesman for the AA said: "There is no doubt Brighton will be visited by thousands of people, many of them in cars.

It will undoubtedly lead to problems.

"The same can be said of any popular location in Sussex."

Neil Thompson, spokesman for the RAC, said this weekend will be the worst Easter on record for congestion.

He said: "Easter is always one of our busiest periods of the year, but this Easter's getaway is expected to be more intense as motorists shun foreign travel in favour of domestic driving holidays.

"This, combined with the short break for Easter, will lead to a nightmare Maundy Thursday for motorists especially if the bad weather hits.

"Our advice is to leave extra time for journeys and, where possible, try to get away a few hours early to beat the rush."

There are also major delays likely elsewhere in Sussex with roadworks continuing on a number of routes.

One of the worst areas will be the A27 at Warren Road where one lane will be closed.

Delays are also expected on the A259 at Southwick, near the junction with Kingston Lane, because of roadworks.

Road improvements also continue to affect the A27 and A26 junction near Lewes and lengthy delays are expected.

A spokesman for the Highways Agency said many of its works would be suspended where possible.

He said: "To help people to a smoother getaway we are encouraging them to plan their route and check for delays before starting their journey, and to make simple checks to their vehicle's tyres, oil and water.

"We also encourage people to plan their journeys using the travel and weather information that is available on websites and radio bulletins."

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