A record Easter getaway was starting today as holidaymakers began jetting abroad to escape an icy snap at home.

Travel agents in York said there were practically no foreign holidays left to sell, and Manchester Airport was predicting it would handle an unprecedented 150,000 passengers over the four-day break.

Meanwhile, the Highways Agency has pledged to lift some roadworks to ease traffic jam blues and give motorists a fighting chance on one of the busiest weekends of the year.

Weathermen said there was a possibility of a white Easter - although the threat of snow was confined mainly to the high ground.

The getaway started early today. One of those escaping the cold was Sam Goacher, who was this morning on her way to the sunshine resort of Lanzarote after waving goodbye to her family in chilly Bridlington.

Sam was returning to her job working for a Time Share company on the Med.

"I'm glad to be going today because it's so cold," she said.

The Leeds Weather Centre said there was every chance rain and wind would be beaten off by a strong sun in time for Sunday and Monday, and the AA predicted this would lead to a rush for coastal resorts like Scarborough and Whitby.

A spokeswoman said: "If it rains, people tend to flock to undercover shopping centres, so expect York to be choc-a-bloc. Out-of-town centres like Clifton Moor, the White Rose Centre in Leeds and the warehouse-style shops at Hornsea will all be busy. Newcastle and Meadowhall will also attract quite a lot of people.

"But if it is sunny, roads to the coastal resorts will be under a great deal of pressure, as will ones to the North York Moors."

A Leeds Weather Centre spokesman said the weekend's main feature would be the cold, with temperatures at 7C (44F) and strong winds tomorrow and onSaturday, making it feel more like two degrees above freezing.

But while Good Friday and Saturday will see showers, Easter Sunday and Monday have a fair chance of clear skies and bright sunshine, pulling temperatures back up in sheltered spots.

Tour operators said the Canary Islands, Spain and the Balearic islands were the most popular destinations.

SKIN CANCER CASES TOP 800

As thousands prepare to jet off to sun spots for Easter, a shocking new report today revealed that incidences of skin cancer have rocketed in Yorkshire.

And doctors say North Yorkshire is the worst hit in the region, with cases doubling in 10 years.

The Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) said the increasing number of people taking holidays abroad is taking its toll in "short, sharp shocks" to the skin.

Researches also warned that sunburnt children are particularly at risk, with evidence that they are more likely to develop skin cancer life.

A report out today by the ICRF reveals that skin cancer cases have risen nearly 50 per cent in Yorkshire in the last 15 years.And in North Yorkshire, cases rose from 400 a year in 1984 to 800 in 1994.

Dr Roger Boyle, a general manager at York District Hospital, said: "It is a fairly phenomenal rise. There is no doubt it is a major problem. People need to be aware of the dangers of sunbathing, both the Spanish variety and the sunbed kind."

Dr Julia Newton Bishop, of the ICRF's research unit at St James's Hospital in Leeds, said: "More people are taking hot holidays abroad now than ever before, so given the association between increasing sun exposure and increasing skin cancer risk, it is worth taking some simple precautions now to limit your sun exposure."

The charity has produced a fact sheet with advice on how to avoid skin cancer. For a copy of Sunbathing, Skin Cancer and You, send a SAE to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, PO Box 123, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PX.

See COMMENT Cancer risk lies in too much sun

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