BRADFORD has been hit hardest by recent increases in car insurance costs, according to new research.

Comparison website, Confused.com, has released its latest car insurance price index and it shows the city is the eighth most expensive in the country for full comprehensive cover.

The index - compiled using anonymous data from all enquiries submitted on the comparison site for fully comp cover - puts the average price in Bradford at £1,178.

That is £363 more than the average for the whole of the UK.

Only seven locations, in London and Manchester/Merseyside, have more expensive premiums.

Bradford's total is also the highest in what Confused.com calls the "Leeds/Sheffield" region.

That category includes the following locations: Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Wakefield, Sheffield, Huddersfield and Halifax.

The whole region is now in the midst of a two-year high for premium prices.

It is a pattern than is mirrored right across the country.

Overall, the average premium price rose by 5 per cent over the last 12 months - the steepest rise in two years.

Confused.com is now urging people to shop around for their car insurance.

Amanda Stretton, Motoring Editor at Confused.com, said: "It's January, the month to save money and re-evaluate our spending.

"But the bad news is car insurance costs in Leeds and Sheffield are increasing.

"And, as drivers, this is something we can't avoid.

"If costs continue to accelerate at this pace, we could be paying record prices by the end of the year.

"Shopping around is key to saving on car insurance.

"And even if your renewal price is cheaper, or the same, it's likely there will be another insurer out there willing to offer a better price."

The final few months of the year proved particularly costly for drivers in Bradford.

Average prices for insurance dramatically accelerated by 6 per cent throughout the final quarter of 2019.

That equates to a rise of £65.

It's a stark increase considering the whole of the "Leeds/Sheffield" region experienced a similar rise (7 per cent), but for the entire year.

Following these recent increases, the average price of car insurance in the UK is now nearing the 2011 peak of £858, with motorists today paying just £43 (5 per cent) less than this record price.

Confused.com also conducted a survey of 2,000 UK adults who drive.

It showed more than a quarter (27 per cent) of drivers are confused about why the cost of their insurance increases each year.

People are still remaining loyal to their current insurers though, despite 53 per cent of drivers who received their renewal notice in the past three months saying their price had increased by £52 year-on-year, on average.

Nearly half of those went on to renew with the same insurer.

To compare insurance quotes and for more information visit: confused.com

To view the index itself visit: confused.com/car-insurance/price-index