North races into pole position for broadband speed

Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York are also in the top 10, but Huddersfield's average speed is far in front at 15.73Mb – significantly faster than 11.08Mb in second-placed Leeds.

The north of the country fared much better than the south in a survey.

London was the only southern city or town in the top 10, but its average speed of 9.02Mb was 43 per cent lower than in Huddersfield, according to research from broadband comparison website Top10.com.

Coun Jim Dodds, who represents the ward of Denby Dale, near Huddersfield, has been working for three years to get faster broadband in his area and said he was "shocked" by the survey.

He said: "It surprises me. If you'd asked me to put Huddersfield in the top 10, I would not have done.

"The figures give an inaccurate perception of the Huddersfield area.

"There are areas of our ward which don't get broadband at all. Denby Dale is about eight miles outside of Huddersfield, so you've got from 15Mb down to about 1Mb."

Bradford was in third place in the survey (10.51Mb), followed by Manchester and Bolton. They were accompanied in the top 10 by York, London, Stockport, Sheffield and Glasgow.

Six of the 10 worst places for broadband speeds were in the south or Midlands, Southampton, Southend-on-Sea and Stoke-on-Trent being at the bottom – all under 6.7Mb.

Other cities with poor speeds included Newcastle, Cardiff, Bristol, Sunderland and Belfast.

The director of Top10.com, Alex Buttle, said: "The difference between the fastest and slowest towns and cities in the country is surprising – especially when you consider that London, a city of global economic significance, only came in seventh in the national rankings.

"The UK needs to offer top broadband speeds across the country regardless of geographic location, which is something that at the moment we are failing to deliver."

Chancellor George Osborne announced in last week's Comprehensive Spending Review that North Yorkshire would pilot a roll-out of super-fast broadband to rural areas.

Top10.com carried out almost 100,000 speed tests between mid-September and mid-October to compile the research.

Its findings come after communications watchdog Ofcom ruled BT must open its super-fast fibre optic network to rivals.

The quickest connections

1 Huddersfield – 15.73Mb

2 Leeds – 11.08Mb

3 Bradford – 10.51Mb

4 Manchester – 9.24Mb

5 Bolton – 9.22Mb

6 York – 9.05Mb

7 London – 9.02Mb

8 Stockport – 8.65Mb

9 Sheffield – 8.54Mb

10 Glasgow – 8.43Mb