THOUSANDS more rural homes and businesses in north-east England are to benefit from high-speed fibre broadband.

More than £1m via an application under the Rural Community Broadband Fund is to be invested in extending fibre broadband coverage in the Durham and Tees Valley areas.

It follows the success of a collaborative bid between Durham County Council and the Tees Valley councils.

The money, along with an additional investment of £300,000 from project partner BT, will mean the programme will be able to extend the reach of next generation fibre broadband to a further 3,500 homes and businesses.

This additional resource complements the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) roll out.

Durham County Council said the funding would help achieve fibre coverage across 98% of County Durham.

Further funding opportunities would continue to be explored in the aim to extend coverage to every home, business and community in the county.

This project will be managed as part of the Digital Durham programme.

Jane Brown, Durham's cabinet member for corporate services, said: "We know that access to fast broadband speeds is still a problem in some parts of the county, particularly more rural areas."

It was "fantastic news" that the funding bid has been approved, said councillor Brown.

"Effective broadband is key in modern communication and bringing economic growth to County Durham.

"Benefits to residents and businesses are enormous and SMEs in particular will be able to take advantage of new opportunities leading to regeneration and job creation."

The Rural Community Broadband Fund is funded by Defra and Broadband Delivery UK and provides grants to establish fibre broadband in hard to reach areas.