Broadband relief is imminent for 2,400 rural residents and business owners in Spencers Wood, as engineers gear up to finish a full fibre connection in the village in September.

Engineers from telecoms company Gigaclear began the work last summer to extend its network from nearby Swallowfield.

The cable connection between the communities is now live, and engineers have been going street to street, either digging new trenches or using existing infrastructure such as poles and ducting, to reach each property.

Project manager Brandon Stevens said: "Taking our full fibre to rural communities that would otherwise have copper or an inferior part-fibre broadband connection fundamentally changes them for the better, because it creates choice for the people in those communities about how they work and how they live their lives."

Gigaclear has been designing, building, and installing its gigabit full fibre networks since 2010.

The company employs more than 750 people across six office locations, and serves more than 110,000 customers.

Those wishing to find out if they can access Gigaclear's full fibre broadband can do so at https://order.gigaclear.com/availability