WORKERS in York can have come top of the tree for ditching their cars and taking a morning stroll or cycle to the office.

Figures from the 2001 Census show that more than 13,000 York people opt to amble to their workplace every day, with another 10,000 getting on their bikes - the highest figure per head of population in Yorkshire.

National figures also showed that the proportion of people in Yorkshire and Humberside who exercise on the way to work was higher than the rest of the UK.

Dan Johnson, principal transport planner at City of York Council, said: "It is very exciting for us that this independent research shows our investment and promotion in walking and cycling is having positive results.

"We do not see this as the end, it is the start, and we would hope to see more people walking and cycling to work.

"People are working longer hours and exercise can be one of the things that gets squeezed due to a lack of time.

"Exercising on the way to work is a good way to make up for that."

Updated: 11:06 Wednesday, May 12, 2004