HUNDREDS of residents in Eccleston have signed a petition to campaign for faster broadband speeds.

Residents are frustrated from poor Internet connections and slow download speeds and say that they were told by BT Openreach and Connecting Merseyside that green cabinets throughout the area would be upgraded.

Eccleston councillors, Teresa Sims, Michael Haw and Geoff Pearl launched the 'Connecting Eccleston' petition last year to campaign for faster connections.

Hundreds have already signed it calling for fibre optic broadband to be installed. Last October the Star reported when a group of residents in Haydock held a protest over slow connectivity.

Eccleston councillor Michael Haw said: "Many people require high speed Internet for work or leisure and it is simply not acceptable that many Eccleston residents do not have access to a decent broadband service.

"We're asking residents to sign our community petition to highlight that there is a clear demand for this service".

Norley Drive resident Ben Mercer, 32, is one who has supported the campaign.

He said: "The current situation just isn't good enough. We want clarity from BT and Connecting Merseyside about when their services will be provided and a formal commitment from them that they will adhere to the dates that they have laid down.

"They've managed to provide High Speed Fibre Optic broadband to other areas on Merseyside, so why can't they do the same in Eccleston? I would urge Eccleston residents to sign the community petition to help put pressure on internet providers to get Eccleston connected."

Springfield Lane resident Michael Greenacre added: "It's taken far too long for a full broadband service to be available to Eccleston residents. Many local people are retired and many are professional people who would work from home and have high use of the web. The sooner we have full broadband the better."

The Eccleston FOCUS team is in the process of organising meetings with senior managers of other Internet providers to deliver the petition and request a better service for the area.

A BT spokesman said: “There are two main areas in the UK in terms of building broadband. One where commercial firms – of which BT is only one – decide to build fibre broadband connections because it makes business sense.

"The other is where government, councils and their partners, provide funding to reach areas outside areas where commercial firms are allowed to build.

"These Eccleston addresses are all in areas where only commercial firms can build. There are no commercial cabinets built and as one of these firms BT is keeping the situation under review but we can’t speak for other firms and their plans.”

The petition can be viewed on www.ecclestonfocusteam.co.uk.