UlVERSTON is to be included in the roll-out of superfast broadband and is likely to be hooked up by this time next year.

The move comes after Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock pressed British Telecom to include the town with other areas around the county.

Woodcock's office hailed the commitment from the telecoms giant as an 'about-turn' from its original position.

Initially, the town had been told there was no 'commercial case' for putting Ulverston on the fast lane of the internet so Mr Woodcock wrote to the company urging them to review.

It also followed calls led by the Ulverston Business Alliance, and BT have now said that they expect work to switch on Ulverston to be complete in early 2014.

Mr Woodcock commented: “I’m very pleased that BT have confirmed that Ulverston will be provided with the superfast connections that local businesses and families urgently need - this is a big victory for our campaign.

“Poor internet speeds have held back Furness businesses for too long and we need the work on this super-slow roll-out to proceed as fast as possible. “I will continue to keep up the pressure on BT and the county council to make superfast broadband across Cumbria a reality.”