CAR traffic hit a six-month high on Monday as non-essential shops reopened across Wales.

New Department for Transport figures show car traffic reached 86 per cent of normal pre-lockdown volumes, the first time since October drivers have gotten behind the wheel in such numbers.

While shops were the motivation in Wales, in England there were also the newly opened hairdressers, and outdoor hospitality.

As a result, the government report revealed Monday's traffic figure was more than 10 per cent up on the average weekday traffic volume recorded the previous week.

In anticipation of shoppers hitting the high street, retailers were busy re-stocking as heavy goods vehicle (HGV) traffic was 15 per cent above pre-pandemic figures - a level of HGV activity last seen in the build-up to Christmas.

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Greg Wilson, founder of Quotezone.co.uk, one of the UK’s largest car insurance comparison platforms, said: “It’s great to see life return to our roads, villages and towns.

"But if, like the majority of us, you have been working from home, it’s possible you might have reduced your estimated annual mileage during the pandemic to reflect fewer journeys and zero commute, in which case it might be worth revisiting that estimate now that things are beginning to open up again.

“While many office workers are likely to continue working from home for some time to come, if there’s any possibility that you’re likely to clock up more miles than you originally estimated when you took out insurance, it might be a good idea to advise your car insurance provider of this revised estimate.

"In many cases the difference won’t be significant enough to alter your premium, particularly since most workers aren’t commuting yet and the ‘work from home’ advice is still in place, but it’s still a good idea to keep your insurer in the loop.”