Spain's main roads, especially those in Catalunya, Andalucia and Valencia, are already suffering under the strain of the holiday traffic, as the August exodus to the coast gets underway.

According to data from the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), the roads that were most clogged up at lunchtime today were the AP-7 in Catalunya, where tailbacks of 20km have been seen between Llinars del Vallès (Barcelona) and Montmeló (Barcelona) as the result of an accident.

Many of the toll stations are experiencing congestion, especially around Sitges, Roca del Vallès and Mataró.

Tarragona province has seen problems on the N-340 in the Torredemarra area, where 9km tailbacks have built up.

In Andalucia, two accidents in Jaén and Huelva also led to congestion on the roads.

On the A-4 towards Seville traffic is moving very slowly, as is the case on the A-49 as well.

Jams of five kilometres built up on the A-7 towards Cadiz and six kilometre jams were seen on the A-45 in Casabermeja (Málaga).

The AP-7 in the Valencian Community has seen four kilometre tailbacks around Quart de Poblet and Riba-Roja de Turia, and there have been five kilometre jams on the CV-500 near Sueca.