The RM postcode area has the highest pass rate for MOT’s in the country, figures compiled by a website show.

The ‘Romford’ postcode had a 70 per cent pass rate, well above the average of 60 per cent.

Honestjohn.co.uk examined tens of millions of records obtained from the Vehicle Operator and Services Agency (VOSA) through the government’s OpenData scheme.

The data is only just been made available to the public for the first time.

Between 1 October 2010 and 30 September 2011, 68,637 cars registered in the RM area failed their MoT.

Lighting and signalling was the biggest reason (17 per cent of failures), followed by suspension (7.2 per cent of failures) and tyres (6.3 per cent of failures).

All of the main areas tested performed better than the national average - significantly so in the cases of suspension, brakes, steering and fuel and exhaust.

Cars performed well across every year of registration, with many doing 25 per cent better than the average for that year. Cars in the RM postcode last well too, with tests dating right back to the 1980s when some cars did over 50 per cent better than the average at the time.

Daniel Harrison, editor of honestjohn.co.uk, said: “This is information that has been kept from car owners for many years.

“VOSA even fought to keep it out of public view. It’s the first time that this information has been made available in this detail, and in a format that makes it easy to access.

“Families using the data that comes from the 24.5 million records will be better prepared for their MoTs and be able to keep better control over the cost of motoring.”

The RM postcode includes the whole of Havering as well as Dagenham, Thurrock, Navestock, and parts of Epping Forest.