Slowest broadband speeds are revealed

The research, which was carried out by online comparison site uSwitch.com, found that Maple Crescent in Alveley, between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster, was the slowest in the West Midlands, with an average download speed of 0.91 megabits per second (Mbps) and the fifth slowest nationally.

Allens Lane in the Pelsall area of Walsall, was found to have an average download speed of 1.11 Mbps while Letchmere Close in Pattingham, near Wolverhampton had Britain's 18th slowest time at 1.2 Mbps.

This compares to a national average 17.8Mbps.

Summerfield Road in Clent, near Stourbridge, at 1.32 Mbps, and Wordsworth Road in the Lower Gornal area of Dudley was 50th slowest in Britain, at 2.04 Mbps.

At the other end of the spectrum, Littlewood Lane at Cheslyn Hay, near Walsall, had the seventh fastest time in the country, at 35.64 Mbps.

Karen Broom, of Letchmere Close, Pattingham, was not surprised her road was one of the slowest in the country, saying the speed sometimes fell as low as 0.9Mbps.

"We can't even watch Youtube," she says. "My husband is involved with Tettenhall Wood Photographic Society, and when he is trying to do their website it takes him forever.

"And it's not just the computer. We can't watch BBC iPlayer, or any of the catch-up services."

Marie-Louise Abretti, a broadband expert at uSwitch.com, said: "There are still areas in the UK which experience broadband speeds so slow the service is negligible. At the same time, superfast broadband connections are becoming more widely available but, as our research suggests, these are clearly not being utilised."

The research found that only 15 per cent of UK residents have access to a broadband connection of 30Mbps or higher, the speed which is required to earn the tag of 'superfast' as set out by the EU.