A SURVEY has revealed what drivers in the region have long known: the Great North Road makes people's blood boil.

The A1 has been picked out as one of the country's highways from hell and one of the most loathed routes in Britain.

The section between Yorkshire and the North-East in particular was picked out for special bile by motorists responding to a survey carried out by the company Virgin Cars.

The nose-to-tail congestion on the road, one of the country's busiest north-south routes, has made it one of the most hated by drivers from around the country.

It featured in sixth place in the list of most hated roads - but the region still has it easier than other areas of the country.

Of 1,000 motorists questioned for the survey, 51 per cent put the M6, the notorious Birmingham to the North-West route, at the top of their list.

Another 25 per cent said London's orbital motorway, the M25, was the worst, with the M60, Manchester's orbital motorway, third.

That was followed by the M1, Glasgow's M8, and the A1.

Meanwhile, the northbound A1 was blocked for the second day in a row yesterday after a lorry collided with a combine harvester near Catterick, North Yorkshire, at about 6.30am.

The lorry driver was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital with back injuries. A second man was also injured, but not seriously.

A spokesman for the fire service said the lorry clipped the back of the combine, which was parked at the side of the road. The road was shut for about two hours while the wreckage was removed.

Diversions were put in place and motorists faced long delays.

On Tuesday, the A1 northbound was closed for almost nine hours after two lorries crashed near Thirsk, North Yorkshire.