THOUSANDS of homes and businesses near Selby now have access to superfast broadband.

The first fibre street cabinets, which give access to high-speed broadband, have been installed in Sherburn-in-Elmet, Monk Fryston and South Milford.

The services have been set up by Superfast North Yorkshire, a partnership led by North Yorkshire County Council and BT, and should mean 90 per cent of North Yorkshire’s homes and businesses will have access by the end of 2014.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty, said: “Fibre broadband has an essential role to play in the stimulation of economic recovery and in building a more prosperous future for us all. It’s a major step forward that hundreds of local people can now get connected to this exciting technology.

“With access to fibre broadband, local firms can explore new ways of working and speed up vital operations, to boost their ability to compete. It’s not solely about business and industry, though; home computer users will also reap the educational and social benefits of faster internet access. It’s been fascinating to see today just how these powerful connections are carried into homes and businesses.”