Virgin Media O2 is boosting its initiative to get more people connected to the web with all of its UK stores now part of the National Digital Inclusion Network. This vital service aims to offer those in need the chance to get a free O2 SIM for their phones which includes a generous 25GB of data per month for 12 months.

So far, O2 says it has handed out free SIMs to more than 200,000 people nationwide and it's hoped this boost will help get even more people online.

The update comes as new research suggest that around a quarter (26 percent) of Brits on low incomes (those with a household income of less than £15,000) are struggling to afford their mobile phone bill.

Half of those also say they’d feel lonely if they couldn’t access the internet or mobile data at home.

Speaking about the update, Nicola Green from Virgin Media O2 said: “We know that people experiencing poverty are having to make difficult choices around how they spend their money – but affording mobile data shouldn’t be one of them.

“That’s why Virgin Media O2 has rolled out the National Databank to all its O2 stores nationwide, offering free O2 mobile data to connect people in need, so they can get online and stay in touch with their loved ones this Christmas and beyond.”

HOW TO GET THE FREE DATA

To be eligible for free data from the National Databank, a recipient must:

Age: Must be 18 years or older.

Income: Must belong to a low-income household.

Internet Access:

And/or have no access or insufficient access to the internet at home,

And/or no or insufficient access to the internet when away from home,

And/or being unable to afford their existing monthly contract or top-up.

If you are struggling to get online and match the criteria above, here are all the stores where you'll find the National Databank.

Antrim - The Junction.

Armagh - Mall Shopping Centre

Barnstaple

Belfast - Kennedy Centre

Bexleyheath

Birmingham - The Fort Shopping Centre

Bishop Auckland

Bishop’s Stortford

Burnley - The Mall

Chester - Broughton Shopping Park

Christchurch

Cirencester

Cookstown

Coventry - Arena Shopping Park

Didcot – The Orchard Centre

Doncaster - Frenchgate Centre

Downpatrick

Edgware

Edinburgh - Cameron Toll Shopping Centre

Ellesmere Port – Coliseum Shopping Park

Enniskillen - Erneside Shopping Centre

Havant – Meridian Centre

Hempstead Valley - Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre

Hounslow

Ilford – The Exchange Centre

Keighley

Leicester – Beaumont Shopping Centre

Leigh - Spinning Gate Shopping Centre

Lichfield

Limavady

Liverpool - Liverpool Shopping Park

London - Brixton

London - Colliers Wood, Tandem Centre

London - Eltham

London – Lewisham, Lewisham Shopping Centre

London - Stratford Centre

London - Stratford Westfield

London - Tottenham Court Road

London – Walthamstow, &17Central

London – Wandsworth, Southside Centre

London - Wood Green

London - Woolwich

Londonderry – Foyleside Shopping Centre

Loughborough

Magherafelt - Meadowlane Centre

Market Harborough

Newmarket - The Guineas

Newtownabbey – Abbey Centre

Ormskirk

Penrith – New Squares

Penzance

Rochdale - Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre

Rugby - Junction One Retail Park

Skegness - Hildreds Shopping Centre

Stamford

Strabane

Trowbridge - The Shires Shopping Centre

Truro - Lemon Quay Retail Park

Welwyn Garden City – Howard Centre

West Bromwich – New Square

Worksop – Bridge Place

Bolton – Middlebrook Retail Park

Bridlington - The Promenade

Middleton - Middleton Shopping Centre

Preston - Deepdale Shopping Park

Sheffield - Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre

Skipton

Thornton Cleveleys

Washington – The Galleries

Shrewsbury