Brighton has been named as country's eighth slowest city to drive in.

Motorists in the city experience the worst congestion outside London, with one minute and 47 seconds of delays for each mile travelled.

It means drivers in Brighton travelled the slowest at an average of 13mph, beating even London where the average is 15mph.

But Brighton and Hove City Council said its primary concerns were keeping people safe and improving air quality.

“Slower vehicle speeds mean safer roads,” a council spokesman said.

“Most of our city’s A-roads are in built-up areas, so they have a 30mph speed limit and some sections are 20mph.

READ MORE: Brighton and Hove City Council reveals plan to improve air quality

“The rest of the city’s roads are mostly 20mph – so it is not surprising if we have slower driver speeds than other cities."

He said 40 per cent of city residents do not own cars.

The council is also encouraging people to use public transport to free up the roads.

“We are giving these cleaner modes of transport more priority on our busy roads to provide more choice to help shift journeys away from vehicles and reduce congestion,” the spokesman said.

“Compared to other cities we also have good electric vehicle charging point coverage for those who need to drive.”