M25 heads the queue of Britain's top 10 roads to hell

Frustrated drivers have known it for ages, but now it is official - the M25 has the worst traffic jams in Britain.

Confirmation came from a survey of the country's most congested routes carried out by the Road Haulage Association.

After the M25, the next worst spot for jams was the M5-M6 interchange to the north-west of Birmingham.

Other routes best avoided included the M62 between Manchester and Leeds, the M4 near Newport in south Wales and the M80 between Glasgow and Stirling.

"This survey effectively acts a map of Britain's `Roads to Hell'," said RHA spokesman Daniel Hodges.

He added: "It shows there are now no areas of the country free from the social, economic and environmental blight of traffic congestion.

"The `congestion disease', which has gradually been clogging our nation's transport arteries over recent years, is now developing into a national epidemic."

The worst 10 routes for jams are:

1 The M25 (between J11 and J13 in Surrey, at J25 in Hertfordshire and between J28 and 29 near Brentwood in Essex

2 The M5/M6 interchange, north west of Birmingham

3 The M62 between Manchester and Leeds

4 The M4 surrounding Newport, south Wales

5 The M80 between Glasgow and Stirling

6 The A30 between Exeter and Honiton in Devon

7 The A1 western bypass, between Newcastle upon Tyne and Washington in Tyne and Wear

8 The A63 from J38 on the M62 east of Hull to Hull Docks and Myton Bridge in Humberside

9 The Hangar Lane Gyratory System in west London

10. The A14 between Huntingdon and the M11 in Cambridgeshire.