PRESTON City Council has launched its own television channel so more people will be able to find out about the city and the services it has to offer.

The channel, Preston Connected TV, shows facts about council tax bands, details about jobs and lists of local schools, dentists, doctors, and ward councillors.

Council chiefs hope the new channel will make services more user friendly to people from "socially excluded areas" and those who don't have a computer.

"A higher proportion of people in socially excluded areas have digital TV, the percentage of people with digital television is about 50 per cent of the population," said Peter Ryder head of information communication technology at the council.

The new channel, launched on Friday, also allows viewers to report problems, such as abandoned vehicles, dropped litter or uncollected bins.

Council bosses say the channel, which costs the price of a local phone call to use, will be available to digital users across the country, although it is not available to Freeview customers due to technological issues.

Councillor Harold Parker, executive member for resources, said: "We are pleased to be one of the first councils in Lancashire to go digital with Preston Connected TV.

"It will particularly benefit people who don't have the internet at home and so might struggle to get onto our website.

"People living in other parts of the country can access Preston Connected TV too, so it works for tourism, letting them find out about all that the city has to offer before they visit."

To access the channel digital viewers should press the red button on their remote control and search for the direct gov category.