Poor broadband speeds will be a thing of the past for several villages in the Shepton Mallet area, with the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband picking up pace.

Voneus, one of the UK's largest rural broadband specialists, is behind the installation and is holding a series of events this week for residents.

Those living and working in areas including Baltonsborough, West Pennard, East Pennard, Pilton, West Bradley, Wraxall, Lottisham, Evercreech, Ditcheat, and Street are invited to find out more.

The company will be discussing how an interim measure will immediately lift broadband speeds from less than 4Mbps to superfast speeds of 30Mbps.

Voneus will also show where its network build is up to, as well as upcoming work which will see full fibre to the premise installations providing minimum speeds of 100Mbps and up to 1Gbps.

Zoe Day, head of community engagement at Voneus, said: "We know other providers have promised and failed to deliver much-needed fibre broadband in the area, but we won't.

"Our aim with these events is to give local residents a chance to meet us and put a face to the brand, as well as to ask questions.

"I personally look forward to welcoming and speaking with the members of the Somerset community.

"These events are important to us as we know how frustrating it is for people to suffer with slow broadband speeds for so long, all while dealing with broken promises from other suppliers to provide a viable solution."

The drop-in events will be held between 2pm and 7pm at Baltonsborough Village Hall today and tomorrow (July 12 and 13), West Pennard Village Hill on Wednesday (July 14), and Pilton Working Men's Club on Thursday (July 15).

Attendees will be able to see the equipment that will be in their homes and businesses, as well as view their property on an interactive map showing where Voneus' network build will be.

Anyone interested in finding out more can contact Voneus on 0800 007 3377 or email [email protected]. They can also visit www.voneus.com.