Thousands of cars left unused over the holiday period are in danger of not starting when the majority of fleet drivers return to work, says the RAC.

This year the RAC is expecting to be called out to around 12,000 breakdowns on Monday 6 January with nearly a third of those call-outs likely to be flat batteries, it said.

on Monday 7 January 2019, RAC patrols dealt with 3,600 battery-related breakdowns, which represented 31% of all its call-outs that day. Wednesday 2nd January 2019 was also busy a day for flat batteries with 2,422, or 26% of all RAC breakdowns.

New research carried out with 3,480 members of the RAC Opinion Panel shows 6% of drivers have suffered a post-Christmas flat battery. Of those, 58% say it was due to the vehicle not being used for several days and 13% claim to have fallen victim twice.

As many as 40% who have suffered this problem say the last time it happened they were on the way to work, and 17% say it “caused a big problem for them”.

The RAC has published a list of tips to minimise the chance of battery-related issues:

• Park your vehicle in a garage whenever possible
• Ensure everything is switched off when you finish your journey including lights, heater, fan, heated rear windscreen, and the radio. Sat-navs and other devices can also drain the battery if left connected
• Check the battery connections, ensuring that they are tight and free from any corrosion
• It’s worth getting your battery tested, particularly if it is over four years old
• Take your vehicle for a decent drive to get your battery well charged, and get the engine to its proper operating temperature, before you really need it – ideally several days before. Don’t just check that it starts as this is likely to drain the battery more