Derbyshire County Council (DCC) is calling on volunteers to help it spread the word about its super-fast broadband plans.

The local authority is looking for people to give up a few hours each week to publicising the initiative, creating links with businesses and community groups, and helping out with tutorials for those who have never used the internet.

Government figures show the number of adults across the UK who have never been online stands at 8.4 million - roughly the same size as the country's five biggest cities put together. Four million of these are some of the most disadvantaged people in Britain, including over-65s (39 per cent) and the unemployed (38 per cent).

Council chief Kevin Parkinson, who is spearheading the initiative, said if the county is to stand a chance of achieving improved super-fast internet access then these 'broadband champions' are vital, reports the Matlock Mercury.

"The more hands we can get out there the better, although we want to give all those elected representatives the opportunity first," he explained.

"You don't need to be technically savvy, but you will need time, energy and drive to improve broadband in your local area.

"There are still a lot of people out there who are still not aware of this campaign."

As well as raising awareness for DCC's broadband plans, it is hoped the volunteers will manage to persuade more people to fill in an online questionnaire aimed at measuring existing levels of connectivity across the county.

This in turn will be used by the local authority in its attempt to encourage private sector telecoms firms and European bodies to invest their own money in the project.

The government has allocated £7.39 million of funding to Derbyshire's super-fast broadband deployment, but the council must raise the same amount again before this sum can be unlocked.

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