Following the opening of the M6 Toll motorway, designed to give motorists the chance to avoid congestion, the Coventry Evening Telegraph decided to put it to the test - and sent two of its reporters out in rush hour traffic to compare the two routes.

Reporter Stewart Smith was given the task of travelling from Junction 12 of the M6 to the newspaper's Corporation Street offices via the toll road, while Simon Dudman soon felt he had drawn the short straw, with the task of driving south down the M6.

Within five minutes Simon had already hit congestion, slowing to a frustrating crawl.

He said: "Queues of lorries filled the inside lane as far as the eye could see and although my lane of bumper-to-bumper traffic was moving I could have quite safely done my daily crossword.

"The matrix signs above the motorway were flashing a 40mph restriction. However, at the speed I was travelling this seemed more of an aspiration than a warning."

Things did improve for a while, with speeds averging 60mph for a few miles, but then it was back to a snail's pace for Simon, leaving him 20 minutes behind colleague Stewart.

He said: "Will I use the toll road in the future? I think the answer has to be yes. If not for the time it will save but for the chance to drive past England's second city without my blood pressure reaching crisis point."

And after testing the toll road for himself, Stewart agreed - enjoying his trip down the pristine tarmac of the first motorway toll booth in the country.

Stewart said: "Is it worth paying £2 for a 27-mile drive?

"If my trouble-free journey is going to be typical, then the answer is an emphatic YES.

"Instead of the stop-start motoring on the M6 just a few miles west, rush-hour traffic on the toll road was very light.

"The saving on fuel alone must have covered the cost of my toll fee.

"Cost aside, it was a much more relaxing, stress-fee journey than you normally experience on the M6 heading north or south on the notorious north Birmingham stretch."

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