VILLAGERS have won £500 in a national competition as the first rural area in the country to get broadband Internet technology.

Catterick Village was the Information Technology winner in the 2003 Calor Village of the Year competition, due to the success of its online learning centre.

The community can plug into broadband technology and people using Catterick Village Learning Centre can also study a variety of courses, including those available online through Learndirect, from computing to Spanish, creative writing to health and safety, without having to travel to the nearest major town.

Led by Darlington College of Technology, which has sites at Darlington and Catterick, a number of local learning providers are working in partnership with A1 Community Works.

Member of the local community works team Melva Steckles said: "We didn't really expect to win, though when we looked around at the other entries we realised we had gone a lot further than just developing a village web site. We were thrilled when it was announced, it was brilliant."

The £500 prize was awarded at a ceremony in London and presented to the village by TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh.

The project was funded by Yorkshire Forward through the Learning and Skills Council North Yorkshire.