TENS of thousands of people living and working in rural Cumbria are set to benefit from lightning-fast broadband thanks to more than £100million Government investment.

Around 60,000 premises in the county will be connected to the fastest broadband on the market after Belfast-based supplier Fibrus signed the biggest contract yet under the Government’s 'Project Gigabit' programme.

Project Gigabit is the biggest broadband roll out in British history, backed with £5billion to deliver faster connections to hard-to-reach areas that would otherwise have missed out.

Installation work is already underway in the region, with the first gigabit connections expected by the spring.

Mark Jenkinson MP said: “I have been fighting for better broadband, particularly in rural parts of my constituency, since I was elected in 2019.

“This investment is a huge step forward and will be extremely welcome to people living in some of the more remote parts of my constituency who have struggled for years with poor and patchy connections for years.

“I am delighted that Cumbria is now at the front of the queue for superfast broadband as part of the biggest rollout of its kind in British history.

“And with spades in the ground, long-suffering rural communities will start to see the first green shoots of this work by spring – providing a huge boost for homes and for the rural economy.”

Fibrus has committed to creating at least 90 apprenticeships across Cumbria following the government investment.

These will cover a range of roles, from underground and overhead cabling to surveying, and Fibrus has also committed to establish an apprentice training academy at Newton Rigg near Penrith.

It comes as the Government brings broadband delivered via satellite for the first time to the Lake District, which will see a mountain rescue base in Wasdale Head connected to faster, more reliable connections than currently available due to its highly remote location in a trial scheme.

The Secretary of State for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport, Michelle Donelan said: “This is incredible news for the area and something which both locals and local MPs have been calling for.

“This project will end with Cumbria having over 99 per cent connectivity to gigabit which will be the most connected region in the UK.”