A town and two villages in Bedfordshire could soon boast some of the country’s fastest internet speeds.

Central Bedfordshire Council has welcomed plans to extend the fastest-possible internet access to Shefford, Clifton and Henlow.

Richard Wenham, CBC's deputy leader, said: "This is only made possible by our long-standing investment to bring fibre-optic internet across Central Bedfordshire - a project we began back in 2012.

"The key to the upgrade is to allow homes and businesses to be connected using all fibre-optic cable. Currently the final part of the broadband connection for premises is through BT's copper telephone wiring which imposes a ceiling on download speeds."

Openreach, the area's broadband provider, says it has been able to reduce the cost of providing broadband to rural areas following recent national trials, and the continuing development of new tools, skills and techniques.