BERKSHIRE has been dubbed 'one of the worst' places for learner drivers being able to get a local test as test centres are fully booked.

Statistics from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) revealed 104 Practical Test Centres nationally have a wait list of 24 weeks, the maximum on the system.

This means that there are no tests available at all at almost 50 per cent of driving test centres in the UK.

Berkshire has just a few local options including Reading Driving Test Centre, Newbury's test centres, and Slough Driving Test Centre.

In one case, recently reported in this newspaper, a Windsor student was forced to travel 1,000 miles to Scotland just to take her driving test, as no slots were available locally.  Read more here.

Volta Driving School driving instructor Mr Kwaw Elliott said: "It’s true. Pupils are struggling to get tests and are finding it very difficult.”

Adding: “It’s especially a problem in Reading, it’s worse than other places. There aren’t enough examiners, they could have 10 going per session but they usually only have three."

The instructor said driving instructors in Berkshire have been having difficulty getting any Practical Tests at the Reading test centre for well over a year. Several instructors, who asked no to be named, confirmed to this newspaper that it has been the same in both Slough and for learner drivers in Bracknell also.

HSM Reading Driving School owner Mr Jamil Hussain said: “It’s affecting our business badly, we can’t get dates online at all.”

He continued: “Reading is one of the worst ones. Since Covid, I haven’t booked a single test, and we are one of the largest schools in Reading.”

Other driving instructors agree that the issue may be down to the amount of new drivers that couldn’t take their test during covid.

Best Driving School driving instructor Ifran said: “There’s too much pressure on the examiners after Covid, the backlog is too much.

“The problem has been going on a very long time, they are clearly very short of staff. There is the option to take the test privately, but it’s expensive and I don’t want to send my students to do that.”

As previously reported by the BBC, one Berkshire driving instructor has been sending his students to Wales to take the test after some have been unable to even get on the waiting list locally.

Graham Beisly has been taking his learners on a 400-mile roundtrip to Cardigan on Wales' west coast.

Local petitions have now been set up to implore the DVSA to recruit more staff and deal with the issue at hand. You can view, and sign, one such petition here.

If you have struggled to book a driving test locally, we would like to hear about your experience. Please contact olivia.mowl@newsquest.co.uk