The News and Star reports that 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

The £5billion Project Gigabit is described as the biggest broadband roll out in British history.

It aims to deliver faster connections to hard-to-reach areas that would otherwise have missed out, such as Gilsland and Grasmere.

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

"This is incredible news for the area and something which both locals and local MPs here have been calling for and today we’re actually delivering on this," Secretary of State for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport, Michelle Donelan MP said on a visit to Penrith yesterday.

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

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

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The News and Star - £100 million plan to connect thousands of rural premises in Cumbria