LEARNER drivers were waiting five months for a test at Workington in March, new figures show.

The coronavirus pandemic saw waiting times at driving test centres across Great Britain shoot up, as tests were halted during successive lockdowns.

New figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, obtained by RADAR through a freedom of information request, show that learners were waiting 20 weeks to take their driving test at Workington testing centre as of the end of March – far exceeding the Government's six-week target.

This was up from 17 weeks at the end of March 2020.

As of the end of March, more than 500,000 people were waiting for a test across Britain – seven times the 70,000 waiting in March 2020, and up from 372,000 last year.

The number of people waiting by test centre was not available.