A village in Hertfordshire has become the latest area in the UK to benefit from high-speed broadband.

Birch Green's super-fast internet service was switched on earlier this week in the presence of the government minister for communication, culture and the creative industries Ed Vaizey, the Hertfordshire Mercury reports.

The village is situated so far away from its nearest BT exchange that it received speeds less than 2MB.

Hertford-based Vtesse Networks has saved the day by installing a system that allows the village's residents to receive speeds of 40MB.

"It's just fantastic. Before, it could take up to 15 minutes just to connect to the internet," Susan Williamson, of East End Green in the village, told the newspaper.

Earlier this week, internet service provider BT connected almost 4,000 homes in Fife to its fibre optic broadband service.

Residents and business owners in the area can now benefit from 40MB download speeds and 10MB upload rates.