I'm in that area, been using ntl cable for a long while and consistently found my pings to be quite respectable for gaming.
Obviously different parts of a town could be wired slightly differently so what works for one person may not work for another.
& BTW

to Cable Forum
edit: just done a ping to their test IP address, came back as 10ms.
\wonders why he might be encouraging someone else onto his local connection and hopes it don't degrade performance