RYEDALE is one of the worst areas in the country for broadband speeds, a new report has revealed.

The research, conducted by consumer organisation Which?, found the Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Highland local authorities all averaged the lowest speeds.

Ryedale and Purbeck in Dorset also made up the bottom five. The fastest area was Tamworth, in the West Midlands, followed by Reading, Adur in West Sussex, Enfield and Dundee City.

The minimum download speed proposed under the Government’s Universal Service Obligation is 10Mbps, but the study found the average test in 12 local authority areas didn’t reach this speed.

And despite the majority of slow download speeds coming from rural areas, many local authority areas in big cities are getting below the national average.

The London boroughs of Southwark, Westminster, Lambeth, Hackney and the City of London were all found to be lagging behind the UK average.