VILLAGERS are celebrating after being connected to a multi-million pound superfast broadband programme.

Morcombelake and Chideock have been hooked up to the Superfast Dorset partnership - with the high-speed technology now available to more than 90 per cent of households and businesses in the county. The partnership hopes to connect 95 per cent of Dorset premises by the end of the year.

Beverly Glock, who lets her Morcombelake property, Dairy Cottage, to visitors, was quick to switch to a fibre service when it became available last month.

She said: “Fibre broadband in Dairy Cottage allows all of our guests to use the internet at the same time whether that’s downloading movies, playing games, connecting on social media, or occasionally joining those meetings you can’t get away from via videoconferencing.

“It keeps Dairy Cottage one step ahead of other holiday lets in the area, who haven’t upgraded yet, in attracting busy families looking for a home away from home.”

Ward member on Dorset County Council, Cllr Daryl Turner, is pleased the rollout will help rural communities.

He said: “Superfast Dorset has been a complex engineering project which has built almost 500 cabinets so far and continues to benefit Dorset’s rural communities."

Paul Coles, BT’s regional manager for the South West, believes the technology is "transforming" lifestyles across the UK.

Mr Coles said: “Dairy Cottage is another great Dorset example of how this exciting technology is transforming the way we live and work.

"It is providing a vital boost for local communities because whatever you do online you can do it better with fibre broadband.”

Engineers from BT’s local network business, Openreach, have also recently rolled out superfast broadband on behalf of Superfast Dorset to Chedington, Langton Herring, Milborne St Andrew, South Perrott and Stour Provost for the first time and increased coverage in Boscombe, Christchurch, Parkstone, Poole, Stalbridge and Westbourne.

Broadband speeds will not automatically improve. People have to contact a broadband service provider and upgrade to a fibre service. More than 140 companies are currently offering fibre broadband services in the UK. For more information, please visit dorsetforyou.com/superfast