RIBBLE Valley MP Nigel Evans has called on the government to ensure Lancashire is not ‘left in the digital dinosaur age’.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Evans said: “If the Secretary of State came to Lancashire and had a selfie done with me, and was enthusiastic to show it to the wider public, she would find that uploading it would be a bit hit and miss, because in Lancashire only 55 per cent have access to superfast broadband, compared with 65 per cent nationally.

“Will she ensure that, rather than being left in the digital dinosaur age, Lancashire will have superfast broadband rolled out as quickly as possible, and that 100per cent will get access to it?”

Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, Maria Miller, said she was ‘delighted’ to tell Mr Evans the government was spending more than £1billion on rural super fast broadband.

She added: “As of the end of last month, more than 11,000 premises had been passed, and Ofcom data now show that Lancashire County Council has more than 67 per cent availability of superfast broadband. We are making progress, but we need to ensure that continues.”