The UKs first cross-country motorway is celebrating a significant milestone today.

The M1 was opened 65 years ago on November 2, 1959, with the first leg running from Watford to Ruby connecting the Midlands to the capital.

Today, the M1 is widely regarded as the North-South gateway, now running for 193 miles from London to Leeds

A video released by the AA shows what it is like driving on the motorway today compared to 65 years ago.

When it initially opened to traffic, the M1 has no speed limit, no crash barriers and soft verges rather than the hard shoulders that are in place today.

However, the M1’s birthday is shaping up to be a less than happy one.

To mark the anniversary of it’s opening, the AA surveyed over 7,000 driver who use the road.

The recovery service found that 60% of drivers thought that congestion on the M1 was poor, 47% said that litter was an issue and 37% said the quality and number of the road’s service stations was poor.

When it first opened, the AA said that 20,000 motorists used the road every day, which has now fallen to between 13,000 and 14,000 today.

Speaking on the road’s anniversary, Edmund King, AA President, said: “The M1 has been the backbone of British motoring for 65 years.

“Whilst it has its issues, people forget or don’t realise what it was like before our major motorways were constructed.

“The construction of the M1 led to more freight moving to road enabling easier North to South delivery routes.

“Major towns and cities were congested, and journey times were much higher than they are today.

“However, more than half of motorists said congestion on the M1 is a major issue for them.

 “The M1 transformed mobility in the UK – it enabled families to visit relatives in far-flung parts of the country which would have taken many more hours to get to and led to the expansion of motorway network we recognise today.”