A NEW strategy has been announced to help more than 44,000 people who don’t have access to the internet get online.

Official figures have revealed that more than 8,000 children in the borough don’t have access to the internet at home and another 44,000 adults have never been online.

According to Wigan Council, the figures show that many of the borough’s residents and businesses are in danger of being left behind in the new digital age.

To tackle the problem, the council as part of its Deal will launch a new strategy called Go On Wigan, designed to help people in the borough get online.

The strategy will be officially launched at the Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub Breakfast Series event on Wednesday.

Deputy leader of Wigan Council, Cllr David Molyneux, said: “We want to get residents, businesses, charities, schools, partners and many more to work together to achieve a truly digital borough where no-one is excluded and everyone has the skills and confidence to get online.

“Through this strategy we’ll help them to do that and in turn promote economic growth locally.”

Wigan Council will support residents to get online by running a number of get online sessions and increase the availability of internet access in public spaces.

By 2016, the local authority is aiming to increase the number of children online by 100 per cent and the number of adults by 25 per cent.