VILLAGERS have won a prize in a national competition after becoming the first rural area in the country to get broadband Internet technology.

Catterick Village, in North Yorkshire, earned the accolade Information Technology category winner in the 2003 Calor Village of the Year competition, due to the success of an online learning centre.

The community can now plug into broadband technology and people from the wider area using Catterick Village Learning Centre can also study a variety of courses, including those available on-line through Learndirect.

Its programmes range from computing to Spanish and creative writing to health and safety without having to travel to study.

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 to support the learning needs of the community.

Community Works team member 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, say, just developing a village website. We were absolutely thrilled when it was announced, it was brilliant."

The £500 prize was awarded at a ceremony in London and presented to Catterick Village by television gardener Alan Titchmarsh.

The IT section was judged by Ellie Stoneley, of the community website provider UKVillages.co.uk, who was impressed by the 11 terminal computer suite at the Catterick Village learning centre.

Funding for the project came from Yorkshire Forward and it is managed through the Learning and Skills Council North Yorkshire.

The village has now also been granted permission to install a satellite dish on the flagpole of the local church to improve coverage to the area.