The East Ayrshire village of Catrine were the lucky winners of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband competition – receiving a luxury Christmas tree for the village hall.

The community were presented with the stunning 12 foot tree on Friday, with many joining in to help to decorate it.

The £410 million Digital Scotland partnership is delivering high-speed fibre broadband services to many communities not included in commercial upgrade plans. Funders include the Scottish and UK Governments, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, BT, local authorities and the European Regional Development Fund.

 Alongside commercial upgrades, the programme will provide access to fibre broadband to around 95% of Scottish premises by the end of March 2018, underpinning the Scottish Government’s aim of delivering world class connectivity by 2020.

Catrine currently has over 1100 premises able to receive fibre broadband, which are among more than 475,000 across Scotland which can now access fibre broadband services at speeds of up to 80Mbps* as part of the Digital Scotland rollout.

Communities from across Scotland were invited to take part in the Facebook competition in November. By adding a photo of their hall or community centre, Catrine were the clear winner when getting 763 ‘Likes’.

The community won a 12 foot high, LED-lit artificial Christmas tree, while four runners-up each scooped an 8 foot fibre-optic artificial tree.

Margaret Crawford one of the organisers of the online campaign said; “We are absolutely delighted to have been lucky enough to win the top tree. We were determined to win the tree and couldn’t believe that we were getting ‘Likes’ from people as far afield as Canada. Thanks Digtial Scotland.

Sara Budge, programme director for Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband, said: “Many homes and businesses in Scotland are now able to connect to fibre broadband through our programme. This competition was really exciting for communities that have already benefited from the Digital Scotland rollout as well as ones looking forward to being connected in the future. I am thrilled that Catrine won this tree and I am sure they will look forward to using it for many years to come.”

Brendan Dick, BT Scotland director, added: “A high speed connection will keep everyone in your household happy this Christmas as they can all be online at the same time whatever their internet interests.

“This competition was all about celebrating the progress of the Digital Scotland fibre broadband rollout during 2015. I am sure that Catrine will be delighted with their tree.”

If you’d like to find out more about fibre broadband visit www.scotlandsuperfast.com or contact your internet service provider.