'It's taken nine years and a horrific £100k battle to get broadband to our village'

Donelan supports our campaign to get rural communities connected

- Sam Stevenson and David Maddox

TECHNOLOGY Secretary Michelle Donelan has backed the Daily Express's regional broadband campaign, as rural communities fight for full digital coverage.

Ms Donelan said she "recognises the importance of connectivity" as she insisted her department is "on track" to deliver better 4G mobile coverage across the UK.

It comes as residents of a Devon village revealed their agonising nine-year battle to get connected after being quoted £115,161 for full-fibre broadband.

Volunteers in the rural community of Northleigh, near Honiton in East Devon, "took matters into their own hands" to organise for 7.5 miles of new fibre to be installed in 2015.

About five years later, just 30 out of 120 homes were connected after villagers went directly to infrastructure provider Openreach so they could set up a community scheme. They were forced to change course following what they described as a "horrific" struggle with rural broadband arranger Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS).

Openreach said it is now "on track" to complete the work next month after funding was secured via a Government voucher scheme.

Airbnb host resident Andrea Wood, 64, described the experience as a "terrible travesty". She said: "The waste of public money has been dire.