Prince warns of 'broadband deserts'

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Charles said isolated towns and villages were placed at a "severe disadvantage" by being in the "internet's slow lane".

He warned failing to invest in rural economies would be "vandalism on a grand scale" and lead to the creation of "ghost communities".

He said: "Too many rural households are currently unable to access the internet at satisfactory speeds. The handicap this places on those rural businesses, schools, doctors' surgeries and local authorities, which inhabit these so-called 'broadband deserts', is immense.

"And, even more worryingly, many of those who are being left in the internet's 'slow lane' are the very same people who look after the countryside on our behalf - Britain's livestock farmers - and they are struggling as never before."

Charles said it would be "disastrously short-sighted" if farming did not continue in rural areas.

He added: "It would be vandalism on a grand scale, akin to tearing down our historic cathedrals."

But he warned many traditional rural businesses, particularly livestock and dairy farming, were facing huge shortfalls.

He said the number of dairy farms had dropped by 50% in the past 10 years and 14 farmers a week were leaving the trade.

Charles, who launched a Rural Action Programme following the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001, said the group was considering creating a fund to support isolated communities.