Car-amba! Sheffield and Hull are more gridlocked than São Paulo

In Sheffield, where journey times at peak periods have increased by five per cent in the last year, commuters now spend 36 minutes a day stuck in traffic.

Hull’s commuters, who also face a 35 per cent increase in journey times during rush hours, spend as long as 40 minutes a day gridlocked.

The cities are placed fifth and sixth, behind London, Manchester, Brighton and Bournemouth, in an England-wide congestion table compiled by TomTom.

Leeds and Bradford are placed 13th in the table, with rush-hour queues of 31 minutes a day.

Sheffield’s congestion is blamed largely on bottlenecks on the northbound M1, at the junction with Sheffield Parkway.

Hull’s Garrison Road roundabout is said to be its worst traffic blackspot, with journeys home from work in the city 68 per cent slower than when traffic is flowing freely.

In contrast, evening journeys in São Paulo, the most populous city in the southern hemisphere, take only 53 per cent longer.

In Leeds, where commuters can expect a 54 per cent increase in congestion on their drive home, the most gridlocked road is the M62 where it meets the M621.

The report rates the UK as the second most congested country in the world, behind China.

Ralf-Peter Schaefer, of TomTom Traffic, said the study was designed to help transport planners to understand and reduce congestion.