A SCHEME which has given 1,000 families computers and free access to the internet is being extended to other deprived areas of Blackburn.

Organisers of the £2.5million 'wired up communities' project obtained around 2,500 computers when the scheme was launched in Whitebirk last October.

After 1,000 computers were snapped up, the scheme will now be rolled out to other areas in the borough.

Nearly 5,000 homes in Audley, Queen's Park and Shadsworth have been offered the remaining 1,500 computers on a first come first serve basis.

Yaqoob Hussain, chairman of the Audley and Queen's Park Community Association, today welcomed the move and said it was right that deprived communities should benefit from the scheme like Whitebirk.

He said: "A lot of the young people in the community are familiar with computers, but the older generation are not as much so it will help, also to increase people's chances of employment."

Every successful applicant will receive a computer with free connection to the internet for three months.

When those 12 weeks are up, they can have unlimited use of the internet for £11.99 a month.

Money was given for the scheme by the government because Whitebirk was in the 10 per cent most deprived wards in England and Wales.

The government is using the project to monitor the impact of the internet on these people's lives to judge future initiatives.

A collection of community groups called the Blackburn East Area Community Help Partnership (BEACH) runs the 'wired up communities' project.

The original launch in Whitebirk saw a few minor technical problems, which have since been ironed out.

A help centre was established to help people make the use of their computers, which is set to continue at Accrington Road Community Centre.

BEACH chairman Peter Dawson said he hoped this new scheme would be as successful as the Whitebirk launch.

He added: "The government want 50 percent of people in the country to be familiar with the internet and that is why we have to make the remaining 1,500 available to the other areas. The scheme has been an outstanding success and has made a big difference to the people in the area."

But he warned more than enough applications had been received for computers and an eligibility process was under way.