Readers were quick to share their disappointment over the long wait that learner drivers have to endure to pass their driving test due to a Covid-19 backlog.

Car finance platform CarFinance 247 analysed the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) wait-times for both theory and practical tests, along with finding average learning times, to reveal the new statistics.

Driving instructors have reported a three-month wait time already this year as an influx of youngsters turn 17 and pick up their provisional licences.

Learner drivers are also facing long waits for their practical tests, as the DVSA has revealed that the average wait time for a car driving test is 14 weeks, but some are facing up to six months’ waiting for their exam.

As with theory tests, two attempts is the average to pass – when learners will finally hold their full licence.

Here's what you, the readers had to say.

Claire Louise Crayston was disappointed to hear the news, saying: "I don't think they should be given 2 years to re sit again if there's a back log."

Shantel Pater was equally saddened to hear the news and shared her own experience of having to wait for a licence.

She said: "I’ve been waiting 5 months for a provisional licence a bit too long to wait."

COO and co-founder of CarFinance 247, Louis Rix, said that the backlog shows "no sign of slowing so far" and that "every day more aspiring drivers are turning 17 and hoping to get behind the wheel."

He said that driving lessons and test wait times have "sky-rocketed", adding: "As testing centres are stretched to their very limits, we’ve already seen instructors and examiners threatening strikes."

For more information on driving and driving licences, visit the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) section of the government website at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency.