THE worst traffic jams in the UK have been revealed with disruption on the M6 in Warrington triggering one of the most serious delays this year.

Emergency work to repair the Thelwall Viaduct in August caused disruption and delays from junction 21 back to junction 16 of the M6.

Earlier this year the Warrington Guardian reported how police officers attended the scene and it was found that a number of grid plates had become loose and lifted out onto the road.

This caused major tailbacks after emergency services were forced to close the motorway for several hours to fix the problem.

The congestion has since been named as the second worst traffic jam of the year according traffic analysts Inrix.

Experts also revealed how the M5 in Somerset saw the longest disruption and biggest tailbacks causing problems for drivers up to 36 miles away.

Three of the top five delays were on the M6 according to data analysed between September 2016 and August 2017.

Graham Cookson, chief economist at Inrix, said: "While queuing is considered a national pastime for many Brits, nothing is more frustrating than sitting in traffic and it's a costly activity.

"Jams can be caused by all kinds of incidents but fuel spillages, emergency repairs and broken down lorries contributed to the biggest pile-ups this year."