Lynton and Lynmouth to boast faster broadband speeds

An area in the South West described as one of the "most challenging locations" will soon have some of the fastest broadband speeds in England.

The twin towns of Lynton and Lynmouth, in north Devon, will soon be connected to full fibre broadband as part of a government funded voucher scheme.

Openreach engineer Adrian Chamberlain said: "It's places like this that need our infrastructure more than ever."

The project is expected to be completed by the summer.

Mr Chamberlain said due to the geography of the towns, they have been the "most challenging locations I've surveyed in 30 years of being an engineer".

The project to connect "harder to reach" areas in the South West will also benefit the well known funicular cliff railway which connects Lynton and Lynmouth.

Openreach's broadband ambitions were made more complicated by the Victorian railway, which still runs on the same technology from when it was built 131 years ago.

Ashley Clarke, from the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, said: "We're now installing state of the art technology, so those two working side by side is absolutely fantastic."

A farmer from Exmoor who is due to benefit from the scheme said: "A really good internet connection would make all the difference in the world to us."

Tortie Eveleigh, who runs West Ilkerton Farm with her family, said the slow internet speed makes downloads and uploads "really difficult".

However, she said the voucher scheme "had been pretty cumbersome" and added "another layer of complication to it all".

A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said through the government funding the broadband voucher scheme "suppliers are encouraged into commercially unattractive areas" which would not be due for an upgrade "through normal industry rollout soon".

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