Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has given the green light to ten new schemes that are aimed at removing troublesome bottlenecks across the UK's road network.

An initial £25 million of funding will be released so that the projects can be completed early.

The money will be issued as part of the overall £170 million Local Pinch Point Fund and it is hoped the improvements will provide the economy with a significant boost.

Congestion is a major problem in certain parts of the country and a study conducted by Inrix and the Centre for Economics and Business Research last year showed that traffic jams cost the nation £4.3 billion a year in lost productivity.

"I want to see this work underway and shovels in the ground as soon as possible, so today I am announcing £25 million to fast track the first ten schemes," Mr McLoughlin remarked.

Of the ten projects that have received funding, four are expected to start in the next few weeks.