WIRRAL is to become one of ten areas in the country to benefit from a 'world-leading' broadband boost.

As part of Openreach's 'Fibre First' programme,

Fibre optic cables will be laid from Wallasey telephone exchange to homes and businesses across the borough, enabling faster internet connection.

The announcement was made by shadow digital minister Liam Byrne MP, Wallasey MP Angela Eagle and Openreach's chief executive Clive Selley during the multi-million pound scheme's launch at Wallasey telephone exchange, where the first piece of fibre cable was joined together.

They also met newly-recruited Openreach engineers, who will install the technology and demonstrated some of the latest state-of-the-art engineering kit involved.

It includes flexible fibrescope cameras, which inspect underground ducts for damage and blockages before work starts, reducing the chances of having to dig up roads and pavements.

Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach, said: "Openreach is getting on with building the infrastructure Britain needs to stay ahead in the global digital economy, and families and businesses in the Wirral will be among the first to benefit from this commitment.

"Since starting our 'Fibre First' programme earlier this year, Openreach's team of engineers are now in the final stages of completing the FTTP infrastructure to nearly 180,000 premises, in nine cities we've already announced.

"Despite the challenges of planning, street works and permissions, that's thousands of homes we're in the process of building to every week and it sets us on course to hit our ambition of building 10 million FTTP by the mid-2020s."

As well as adding even more reliability and resilience to the network, FTTP also promises brings speeds of up to 1 Gbps, about 24 times faster than the current UK average of 46Mbps.

Welcoming the arrival of FTTP to Wirral, Liam Byrne, shadow digital minister, said: "Building fast internet connectivity is as crucial to Britain's competitiveness as railways and roads were in the past.

"In today’s economy the internet is not a luxury but a utility, so providing the widest possible access to the fastest possible broadband must be a national infrastructure priority."

Around 30 new jobs have been created across Merseyside created in the last 12 months to install the technology.

Wallasey MP Angela Eagle, said: "This is great for the Wirral, with faster broadband and new jobs providing a welcome boost.

"I'm really pleased to see Wallasey playing a leading role as Openreach steps up work to make ultrafast broadband more widely available.

"The digital demands of people living here are changing all the time and it’s more important than ever to have great connectivity at home and for our thriving business sector."