Chesham has been granted the honour of being the recipient of the UK’s first Smart WiFi pavement this week.

From Thursday, residents, businesses and visitors have been able to ‘Streetsurf’ with free superfast internet, courtesy of Virgin Media.

The unlimited WiFi service, which is seven times faster than the average UK speed, even covers parts of Lowndes Park.

Chesham and Amersham MP Cheryl Gillan said: “It’s brilliant to have such a cutting edge network in Chesham and to be right at the vanguard of connectivity in the UK.

“It will keep the community connected, help Chesham people save some money on their mobile bill and could be a key piece of the jigsaw in connected cities moving forward.”

Virgin Media say Chesham was chosen because the town is demographically representative of the UK population and has a significant presence of independent businesses which suit the piloting new ideas and technology.

Cllr Fred Wilson from Chesham Town Council said: "I am delighted that we’ve been able to bring a UK first to Chesham.

“Efficient connectivity is pivotal to running businesses today and I am proud we are part of a project which is crossing new boundaries.”

Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council, said: “This is fantastic news for Buckinghamshire.

“We have always championed the provision of superfast broadband as an essential part of modern life for residents and businesses.

“I hope Chesham is just the first of many towns in Buckinghamshire to benefit from schemes like this.”

The new network can provide speeds of up to 166Mbps and will be delivered directly from Virgin Media’s street cabinets.

Users will easily be able to connect by selecting “Virgin Media WiFi” within the WiFi settings on their device.