New data published by Highways England has revealed the surprising extent to which officers working across the UK's transport network helped to keep traffic flowing over the busy festive period.

Official statistics showed that a total of 4,281 incidents were dealt with by UK traffic officers over Christmas and New Year, with hold-ups covering everything from a wardrobe dropped on the M62 near Leeds to a lorry fire on the M1.

Broken down, the data showed that around 40 per cent of incidents were as a result of two or more vehicles colliding, while transport officers also attended 78 abandoned vehicles, 55 issues of flooding and 21 fires.

Melanie Clarke, director of customer operations at Highways England, said: "We dealt with nearly 300 incidents on Christmas Day itself and an average of one incident every three minutes during the nine days between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day.

"Around 40 per cent of the incidents we dealt with were caused by vehicles breaking down so it shows how important it is that people make sure their vehicles are in a good condition and have enough fuel before setting off."

However, it was the efforts of the nation's transport officers that were the main cause for celebration in this latest Highways England announcement, with these diligent individuals working alongside the emergency services to help to reduce congestion, clear debris from the carriageways and re-open routes as soon as it was safe to do so.