GRIDLOCKED York is seeing morning rush-hour motorists forced to crawl into the city at less than 6mph - that's even worse than London.

An investigation by The Press has shown the level of frustration drivers face getting to work and on the school run.

Seven members of our staff travelled seven different ways into the city, for a snapshot of York's congestion problems. Their experiences are recorded here in their mini-travel logs, with the lowest average speed only 5.6mph.

That is even slower than the average lowest speeds in London, according to a traffic watchdog. Figures from road information company Trafficmaster show that between 8am and 9am yesterday, drivers were forced to crawl along the outer ring road between Copmanthorpe and Rawcliffe at 6-10mph.

The A1079 between Wilberfoss and its junction with the A64 at Grimston Bar was only marginally quicker. Motorists were down to 25-35mph for a three-hour period between Rawcliffe and New Earswick, and just over 20mph between New Earswick and Grimston Bar.

Last Wednesday, when flooding problems caused virtual gridlock, the picture was even grimmer.

Trafficmaster data manager Graham Smith said: "The speeds we have been seeing at peak times on routes into London have not been as slow as 6mph - they have generally been around 8-12mph.

"There is no clear trend to congestion and no particular area where you can say it gets worse every year, because if you alleviate it in one place, it increases in another."

But York council leader Steve Galloway said: "There's no comparison between York and London and journey times here are rarely excessive.

"There has been a massive reduction in the number of vehicles into the city centre, which has made a major difference to average speeds and public transport has become more reliable."