THINK summer, think long traffic jams, broken down cars and frazzled tempers as families hit the roads for holidays.

Statistics from traffic monitoring service Inrix have confirmed a marked increase from spring to summer in the number of ‘unusual’ or atypical incidents on the M5 motorway and the A303 this year and in 2013.

Inrix spokesman Chris Lambert said the numbers show “an obvious rise in problems … with queues, broken-down vehicles and accidents on both roads”.

He said: “As well as being a popular destination during the summer, Somerset is, to a large extent, the gateway to the rest of the resorts in the South-West.

“Both the M5 from the Midlands and the A303 from Hampshire and the South-East are important routes for holiday makers.

A total of 216 M5 incidents and 77 on the A303 were reported for June, July and August, 2013, compared to 107 on the M5 and 56 on the A303 for March to May the same year.

A total of 94 incidents were recorded on the M5 this July, compared to 64 in June, and 32 on the A303 in July.