As summer holidays begin across Europe, the ANWB motoring organisation warns that it expects a weekend of traffic jams.

Dutch schools in the south begin their long vacation on Friday afternoon, joining the north of Germany and Belgium – plus a number of European businesses, which shut entirely for a few weeks.

‘Holiday makers who are planning to leave this weekend should plan for traffic jams,’ counsels the organisations in a press release.

The organisation offers detailed predictions and live updates on the roads in European countries including Belgium, Germany and France, to help people avoid the busiest routes and planned roadworks.

It expects jams on the A1 and A7 near Bremen and Hamburg, the Belgian coast and spots on the A7 and A9 in France.

Next weekend, the central region of the Netherlands starts its holidays. The weekend weather is expected to be generally warm and sunny, with some cloud, and temperatures between 20 and 27 degrees on Friday.