Congestion on the country’s major roads has fallen over the past few weeks, although by only less than 1%.

However, when compared with 2005 figures, congestion has got significantly worse, with average vehicle delays rising by 3.7% to April 2008 and 4.4% to March 2008.

The figures are contained in the first monthly web bulletin from the Department for Transport, which details congestion on the country’s inter-urban roads.

Inter-urban roads are those such as motorways and A roads - also known as the Strategic Road Network – that link England’s major urban centres.

The figures for the year ending April 2008 showed that average vehicle delays on the slowest 10% of journeys fell from 3.95 to 3.92 minutes per 10 miles - a decrease of 0.7%.