COMPUTER users in Pocklington are campaigning to bring faster internet access to the town.

ADSL Broadband allows people to surf the net without tying up their telephone line, and lets them download music, games, films and other information from websites up to ten times more quickly than standard connections.

But the service is not available for those with a 01759 area phone code, which covers Pocklington, Barmby Moor and Melbourne.

Richard Borrie, who owns Amarsys, a small IT company in Pocklington, said that until the town becomes broadband-enabled, it will be at a social and economic disadvantage.

He said: "Most of my competitors outside of Pocklington, and indeed most of my customers, have broadband. I am at a competitive disadvantage." For broadband to become available in the 01759 area, 350 residents must register an interest in broadband by logging on to www.btopenworld.com/broadband

Pocklington has achieved more than two thirds of its target, but the town needs another 130 people to register for BT to install the service.

Mr Borrie said: "Most people are aware that other parts of the country have got it and there is a feeling that Pocklington is being left behind. The main advantage of broadband is that it gives users continuous access to the Internet.

"This would give Pocklington a strong connection to the rest of the world. We have all the other trappings of modern life but we don't have broadband."

The campaign, led by the Pocklington and Wolds Gateway Committee, has seen a newsletter about broadband delivered to every home in the Pocklington area.

The committee is also considering holding an exhibition on broadband to raise awareness of the issue.

They have applied for a grant that would help fund a one-off event as part of the campaign for broadband.

Updated: 09:56 Monday, March 24, 2003