Sheffield's traffic jams among worst in UK

Analysis of journey times for the TomTom Traffic Index has said Sheffield is the tenth most-congested city in the UK, with average journey times 30 per cent slower than if traffic was flowing freely.

The three worst cities for traffic jams are Belfast, London and Manchester, but Sheffield was named as having bigger problems than Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds.

Also above Sheffield in the list was Edinburgh, Brighton and Hull, as well as Bournemouth, Newcastle and Bristol.

Nationally, congestion was four per cent worse than 2014, with the problem increasing in 17 of the 25 towns and cities in the report, including Sheffield.

The study has suggested commuters waste an average of 127 hours a year stuck in traffic - the equivalent of more than five extra days in their vehicles last year than they would have if there were no queues.

The analysis of 14 trillion pieces of traffic data worldwide found that commuters in Mexico City face the worst congestion, followed by Bangkok, Istanbul and Rio de Janeiro, which is due to host the Olympic Games later this year.

Ralf-Peter Schaefer of TomTom Traffic said: “Building new motorways and ring roads doesn’t eliminate congestion.

“More must be done to better manage existing road space and to spread demand.

“People simply aren’t doing enough to change their travel habits - such as working flexible hours, avoiding peak commuting times, making use of real-time traffic information and trying alternative travel modes.