DRAKE'S Dartmoor, the tourism group aiming to attract visitors to the region where England's Sir Francis Drake lived and worked, has won a new computer system for use by the community.

The group, based in Yelverton, has been awarded the £1,000 computer package by the British Telecom Community Connections scheme.

The BT scheme provides access to computers and the Internet for people who do not have equipment at home.

The computer will be based at Yelverton Garage, where it will be available for use for a small charge by anybody who wants to surf the net.

Visitors and business people will also be able to access their e-mails.

Drake's Dartmoor vice-chairman Stuart Fraser said: 'This is a wonderful opportunity for our community to discover the Internet.

'Our group always wanted to make a contribution to the community as well as improve business in the area, so we are delighted to have been able to provide something so useful to everybody.

'People, whether local or visitors, will be able to see the http://www.drakesdartmoor.co.uk">www.drakesdartmoor.co.uk website free at all times, as well as see free information from Dartmoor National Park Authority.

'In this way, we hope everybody will make use of our website's community page, where local groups and events can be advertised for free.'

The computer can be accessed during Yelverton Garage's opening hours.

Costs for use are £1 per 20 minutes or £3 per hour — charges have been necessary because Drake's Dartmoor will have to foot the line rental bill for the computer's Internet access, as well as the phone bill.

Software has been installed to prevent adult material being available. Security protection for the computer has also been purchased and only new discs — available for purchase at the garage — will be used for downloading information from the web.