The nationwide cost of living index shows there are large variations in income levels across towns and cities based on how long people must work to afford a Greggs sausage roll.

InvestingReviews.co.uk commissioned senior independent economist John Hawksworth to carry out the study of 100 cities and towns across Great Britain.

The Greggs sausage roll index measures the amount of time a typical full-time employee has to work to afford a takeaway sausage roll from the leading bakery chain.

Warrington sits in the top half of the table of the 100 locations analysed, with the town ranked 35th with an average worker having to graft for three minutes and 51 seconds to afford a sausage roll.

The hardest earned sausage rolls are in Lichfield at four minutes and 54 seconds, while the average employee would only have to work for two minutes and 58 seconds in London to buy one.

The publication of the index comes after the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities released its levelling up white paper.

This outlined the Government’s plans to target geographic inequalities, however critics have branded it ‘unambitious’ and ‘lacking detail’.

Meanwhile, Greggs has warned customers they may have to work even harder for their sausage roll in the future, with a raft of price hikes expected later in the year.

Mr Hawksworth said: “In part the analysis is a bit of fun, with the sausage roll standing as a standardised product to compare purchasing power across different places.

“But it does also make the serious point that there are very large variations in income levels across our towns and cities.

“These local earnings gaps are driven by variations in productivity across places that reflect deep-seated disparities in education, opportunity and infrastructure across the country.

“Narrowing these income gaps remains one of the most important economic challenges facing this and future governments.”

InvestingReviews.co.uk CEO Simon Jones added: “Amid all the Government’s talk of levelling up, a great divide still exists across Great Britain today.

“Greggs customers in some parts typically have to work 65 per cent longer than Londoners just to be able to afford a sausage roll.

“As the cost of living squeeze continues to intensify, Brits are going to have to work a lot harder in the future to afford life’s simple pleasures.

“The Government is going to have to take urgent action if its flagship policy does not become a millstone around their neck.”