There will be much dancily merrily round the capstan in Torpoint later this month when the town's broadband connection finally hoves into view.

The Cornish community has been anxiously waiting for broadband since it hit its trigger level in July last year.

Now that a kilometre-long undersea fibre-optic cable has been slung across the Tamar River between Devonport and Torpoint, residents have been told they can expect high-speed Net services from 24 March.

Said Lizzie Beesley, BT South West regional director: "The laying of the cable went smoothly, though the project has been complex.

"We needed to obtain the permission of The Duchy of Cornwall and The Department of Transport and consulted with English Nature and the harbour master. Then, of course, we had to take into account tides and the winter weather."

The BT exchange at Torpoint, which serves about 3,500 households and businesses, is the only exchange in the UK to have had an undersea cable installed so that it can provide the high-speed service. ®

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