ACCESS to the information superhighway has been brought to thousands of people at a Southampton housing estate.

Thornhill residents can now surf the Internet free of charge at the newly-opened Online Centre in Bitterne Road East.

Old and young can access information and send e-mails to friends and family at the facility in Thornhill Youth Club.

Jenny Hartnell was knocking down the door to log on to the World Wide Web so she could communicate with her globetrotting son.

Richard, 33, who has been trekking around South America since October, has been trying to get his parents online for years.

Now Jenny and husband Roger enjoy regular e-mail updates from Richard, courtesy of the Online Centre.

Jenny said: "I think it's a marvellous facility, I really do. It's brilliant."

Community development worker Naomi Bell and helper Carol Luckwell have been overrun with residents keen to teach themselves the modern art of computing.

Naomi said: "People have been dropping in on their way to the shops to check their e-mails."

But she said visitors did not just want to use the Internet but learn other skills such as word processing and label printing.

The Online Centre was set up by a partnership between Fords car company and Solent Skill Quest (SSP) - a local business dedicated to bringing education to underprivileged people all over the city.

Similar facilities have been set up at No Limits in Portsmouth Road, Sholing, the Hexagon Centre in Chandler's Ford, the East Point Centre in Burgoyne Road, Thornhill, and at Fords' Hedge End site.

Funding has come from a variety of sources including Fords, the Government Office of the South East, the National Lottery Fund and Hampshire County Council.

Pat Brady of SSQ said: "We're very excited that we're at last able to provide members of the local community with the opportunity to get online and be part of our information society."

For more information about the Thornhill Youth Club Online Centre contact Diane Bell on 023 8046 2860.

For details about the other centres contact Pat Brady on 023 8058 7483.