Motorists in London waste 227 hours a year, with those in Belfast wasting 190 hours and Edinburgh 165 hours. Manchester, Leicester and Hull complete a list of six UK cities where drivers sit in congestion for more than 150 hours a year, or nearly three hours a week.

London is not only the most congested city in Britain, but is once again the sixth most congested city in the world according to transport data firm Inrix.

“Congestion costs Brits billions of pounds each year,” said the firm’s transportation analyst Trevor Reed. “Unaddressed, it will continue to have serious consequences for national and local economies, businesses and citizens in the years to come.”

He added that authorities need to take action to avoid traffic congestion becoming a further drain on our economy, with intelligent transportation solutions providing one way of tackling the issue.

London Assembly Transport Committee chair Caroline Pidgeon said: “The revelation that London is the sixth most gridlocked city in the world will come as no surprise to most road users.

“This is hugely damaging to our global reputation. The need to improve London’s public transport capacity is desperate – hence the urgent necessity for Crossrail and more people could be encouraged to walk and cycle whenever possible.”

The figures also show that road congestion cost the UK economy £8Bn last year. The National Infrastructure Commission said that solutions to tackling congestion need to come from city halls around the country, rather than Whitehall.

A spokesman said: “Our National Infrastructure Assessment includes recommendations to give city leaders new powers and £43Bn additional funding between now and 2040 to develop and implement long term strategies to tackle the issue, while also delivering job opportunities and much needed new homes.”