:00:08. > :00:11.It's been dubbed Frantic Friday as people hit the roads,
:00:12. > :00:15.railways and airports to visit family and friends for Christmas.
:00:16. > :00:18.And with the addition of last minute shoppers,
:00:19. > :00:21.the AA were predicting around 12 million cars on the roads
:00:22. > :00:25.But, as well as congestion, Storm Barbara also made herself felt
:00:26. > :00:35.with strong winds causing significant problems.
:00:36. > :00:45.Who would fancy driving from Stoke-on-Trent to
:00:46. > :00:49.Many in Staffordshire chose to let the train
:00:50. > :00:55.I'm going on the way to Hastings to see my
:00:56. > :00:57.I haven't seen them since last Christmas.
:00:58. > :01:04.At Birmingham station, they're expecting 200,000 people to
:01:05. > :01:09.The advice for anyone travelling on the train
:01:10. > :01:12.over this period is, plan your journey well in advance and
:01:13. > :01:18.secondly, on the day of travel, please check before you travel.
:01:19. > :01:20.There are no train services on Christmas Day itself.
:01:21. > :01:23.Network Rail say disruption will be minimal over
:01:24. > :01:28.the holiday but they are warning that on the 27th, services between
:01:29. > :01:32.Rugby and Stafford will be affected by work on the West Coast Mainline.
:01:33. > :01:36.National Express have put on an extra 60,000
:01:37. > :01:37.seats to cope with the
:01:38. > :01:40.festive influx and Christmas Day is no exception.
:01:41. > :01:44.We have nine services leaving from here on Christmas Day.
:01:45. > :01:48.We have staff here to support customers and our drivers as well.
:01:49. > :01:51.We're going to destinations as far away as
:01:52. > :01:54.Glasgow, Edinburgh, Heathrow Airport, London Victoria
:01:55. > :01:56.and Bristol and a number of
:01:57. > :02:00.For those driving themselves, good news
:02:01. > :02:03.over 100 works have been lifted across the Midlands but by
:02:04. > :02:07.mid-morning, the partial closure of the M1 due to a serious accident
:02:08. > :02:12.Fortunately, traffic levels have been much
:02:13. > :02:13.lighter than usual and we'd like
:02:14. > :02:17.to thank motorists for the help in making this getaway much, much more
:02:18. > :02:25.Britain's wintry weather is of no consequence if you are jetting off
:02:26. > :02:30.Birmingham Airport reports a 20% increase in festive
:02:31. > :02:33.flyers and on Christmas Day itself, there will be 14,000 passengers in
:02:34. > :02:40.and out of Birmingham, up an incredible 82% on last year.
:02:41. > :02:42.We've been going for the last 15 years,
:02:43. > :02:47.we've just gone away for Christmas and New Year, probably because of
:02:48. > :02:49.our jobs, it's the best time to have off.
:02:50. > :02:52.Christmas is the time to go to these countries, nice
:02:53. > :02:54.weather, nice beaches, nice people, what can you say?
:02:55. > :03:04.And for the very latest on both the travel and the aftermath
:03:05. > :03:10.of Storm Barbara we can join Louisa Currie.
:03:11. > :03:17.A number of trains have been delayed due to high winds
:03:18. > :03:21.Public transport on the whole has been very busy.
:03:22. > :03:25.The roads seems to be fairing well on the whole -
:03:26. > :03:31.although winds have brought down a number of trees.
:03:32. > :03:35.One family in Northdfield in Birmingham had a lucky escape
:03:36. > :03:41.after this one came down in front of them.
:03:42. > :03:45.There was also quite a serious accident on the M5 earlier -
:03:46. > :03:51.but thankfully no serious casualties there either.
:03:52. > :03:55.Things are widely expected to calm down now, although another spike
:03:56. > :04:14.in travel is expected on Boxing Day morning as people head to the sales.
:04:15. > :04:16.But, while others may have struggled to get away,
:04:17. > :04:19.there was some good news in Coventry with work on the notorious
:04:20. > :04:24.There's been absolute gridlock there on occasions,
:04:25. > :04:29.whilst the junction's been completely re-designed.
:04:30. > :04:32.It's taken major excavation work, spanning three years,
:04:33. > :04:36.and costing more than ?100 million to redesign, Tollbar Island.
:04:37. > :04:40.There have been endless queues and much frustration.
:04:41. > :04:47.It took me over an hour to get up the road last night.
:04:48. > :04:50.But at last apart from one lane restriction,
:04:51. > :04:55.Driving through Tollbar during the height of the roadworks
:04:56. > :04:59.could have taken you hours but now, thanks to the new underpass,
:05:00. > :05:05.The project also took six months longer than expected
:05:06. > :05:08.because the wrong concrete was used on new bridges and had
:05:09. > :05:13.It was too much for Lisa Crankshaw from Hinckley who used to travel
:05:14. > :05:15.through the junction on the way to work.
:05:16. > :05:19.Getting back in time for her daughter became almost impossible.
:05:20. > :05:22.Some days I was the last parent to pick their child up and it was just
:05:23. > :05:25.getting so stressful that I just had to,
:05:26. > :05:28.you know, rethink everything and
:05:29. > :05:31.I decided that I was going to leave my job.
:05:32. > :05:34.But at the Midlands Air Museum, which became stranded
:05:35. > :05:37.on the wrong side of the roadworks, they're optimistic.
:05:38. > :05:41.The last three years have been horrendous for us, both fast getting
:05:42. > :05:45.in and for the customers getting air, but it is something that we
:05:46. > :05:49.have had to deal with and thankfully hopefully we are now in a situation
:05:50. > :05:53.The lane restrictions are due to be removed any time and then
:05:54. > :05:55.the junction will be fully functioning in time
:05:56. > :06:04.Finally, a woman from Gloucestershire who dreamed
:06:05. > :06:07.of owning her own reindeer is spending her first
:06:08. > :06:13.Karen Perrins, has been taking Dancer and Blitzen on visits around
:06:14. > :06:16.the county to get everyone in the Christmas spirit.
:06:17. > :06:20.They've been to schools, nursing homes and even
:06:21. > :06:25.Gloucestershire Police's Christmas Community event.
:06:26. > :06:28.Well, that's it from me - I think a white Christmas
:06:29. > :06:31.is probably off the cards, but from all of us on the late team,
:06:32. > :06:39.have a very Merry Christmas - here's Rebecca.
:06:40. > :06:45.It certainly was a wet and windy day today. The storm clouds gathered
:06:46. > :06:48.ahead of Stormont Barbara plumbing and from the West. That is now
:06:49. > :06:52.starting to clear away. We still have a keen reader as we head into
:06:53. > :06:57.Christmas Eve and we will keep that wind as we head through the weekend.
:06:58. > :07:02.Tonight it is calmer out there. We do still keep the breeze so we
:07:03. > :07:06.should stay frost free. Our temperatures are going to range
:07:07. > :07:10.between two and four selfies. We start tomorrow with dry and bright
:07:11. > :07:14.spells. A little bit of rain working its way down from the north and west
:07:15. > :07:18.but plenty of bright spells around that. There will be a keen breeze as
:07:19. > :07:22.well but not quite as strong as today. Temperatures between eight
:07:23. > :07:25.and nine Celsius. This mistake itself, milder but we do have rain
:07:26. > :07:26.to come and there is a chance we could see temperatures into high
:07:27. > :07:34.double figures. big day? Christmas Day. It will stay
:07:35. > :07:37.mild and temperatures could reach 14, 15. He is down bet that the
:07:38. > :07:47.national picture. It will be more northern parts of
:07:48. > :07:53.the UK that see the worst of the weather. Another storm is developing
:07:54. > :07:54.in the Atlantic. This will