Britain's biggest driving blackspot is surprising UK city – 100 hours lost to traffic

New research has revealed the most congested cities in the UK. A new study by vehicle rental company Self Drive Vehicle Hire names Hull as the most congested city in the country, with drivers losing an average of 96 hours a year to bad traffic. 46% of this is lost during rush hour, and for every six miles you drive in Hull, you waste just over 22 minutes.

The study used SatNav data to measure how much time drivers in the UK spent behind the wheel in different cities, and then compared this with congestion data to see how much time was lost on their journeys. This comes as drivers are warned to avoid travelling in the run-up to Christmas as roads are rammed with bad traffic.

Bottlenecks like Preston road, frequent roadworks and the fact that the A63 is the only major route in and out of the city all contribute to Hull's heavy congestion. One driver said on Facebook: "its gridlocked for hours every single day." Another added that "I've worked all over the world and Hull is my top 5 worse places for traffic."

Belfast comes second on the congestion scale, with a similar congestion rate of 45% and drivers only covering 10km in 20 minutes - two minutes quicker than in Hull.

Edinburgh has the longest travel times on the list with a gruelling 27 minutes 24 seconds per 10km. That means drivers waste 94 hours every year navigating its winding streets.

Leicester and Sheffield both have 39% congestion, making fourth place on the list. Leicester drivers lose 97 hours every year due to bad traffic - the most out of any UK city. Leicester travel times are 24 minutes 52 seconds, and drivers take 23 minutes 55 seconds to cover six miles in Sheffield.

The Royal Automobile Club recently issued a warning for drivers to plan well in advance when travelling this Christmas, due to unprecedented levels of bad traffic.