ONE of the region's cities has topped the fitness league when it comes to people walking or cycling to work.

The research, conducted by Durham University using the 2001 census, showed that almost a third of people living in York walked or cycled to work.

Physiotherapists urged more people to follow their example after new figures showed a huge contrast in commuting habits across the UK.

The research was conducted for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, which discussed the findings at its annual conference in Newcastle yesterday.

The chairman, Grahame Pope, said: "The Chief Medical Officer, Liam Donaldson, recently urged people of all ages to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week.

''Physios believe that making lifestyle changes, such as walking or cycling to work, can go a long way towards helping people to meet this challenge."

York, together with the City of London, Westminster, and Edinburgh, topped the fitness league with more than one in four people walking or cycling to work.

The worst areas included East Renfrewshire, Scotland, Bexley, Kent and Carrigfergus, Northern Ireland, where fewer than one in 12 people walked or cycled to their job.

About 14 per cent of people in England walked or cycled to work, 16.5 per cent in Scotland, 13 per cent in Wales and 11.6 per cent in Northern Ireland.