FAR-FLUNG Dales communities can surf through cyberspace thanks to the launch of a community resource.

After years of planning, a learning centre with a computer suite has opened at Hudson House, in Reeth.

When high street bank Barclays announced it was pulling out of the area, residents saw it as a blow to rural life and launched a bid to change the bank's mind.

The campaign was enough to persuade Barclay bosses to sell its Reeth property to the community at an advantageous price - and a project began to convert the building into a local resource.

The first floor became affordable flats while the police, the district council, the Swaledale Festival and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority also moved in.

Another part of the project was the computer suite.

The facilities are now connected to the Internet.

Residents can study for a variety of courses online, including those available through learndirect, without having to travel miles to the nearest town.

Funding for the initiative has come from Yorkshire Forward and is managed through the Learning and Skills Council, North Yorkshire.

Trustee and North Yorkshire county and Richmondshire district councillor John Blackie said: "The Internet could have been designed for remote areas like these and I think it is absolutely wonderful."

Hudson House company secretary Joan Graveson said: "We have 1,600 residents living in 100sq miles and the whole issue is about combating not having access to services and opportunities."

The first member of the public to sign up for a learndirect course was 75-year-old Barbara McMahon, of nearby Low Row, who will study computing.