A WORCESTERSHIRE radio station has been forced to shut down due to legal issues surrounding its licence.

Sunshine Radio’s 1530AM station has disappeared from the airwaves, leaving Worcestershire with just one commercial radio station, Wyvern FM.

Listeners were stunned when the station went off air yesterday afternoon.

Managing director Ginny Murfin said she was informed on Thursday by the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom that the licence for 1530AM still belonged to Classic Hits Radio Ltd – a company which was dissolved yesterday.

Mrs Murfin said that due to the company going out of business and legal issues surrounding another frequency on the licence it was not possible to sort the problem out or change the name on the licence agreement.

Mrs Murfin said how Ofcom are trying to phase out AM frequencies and were no longer making 1530 available for broadcasting.

She said: “It is a very sad day because there has been a radio station operating on that frequency for 20 years.

“But I understand the legal reasons behind it all. It was a problem we inherited from the previous owners and there wasn’t anything we could do about it.

“I haven’t had much time to sit down with everybody and sort things out but I am hoping to disperse the staff and presenters from the Worcestershire station to the other Sunshine stations.

“Unfortunately, listeners will no longer be able to get Sunshine Radio on 1530am; it won’t be coming back on air. All our other stations will remain exactly the same.

“Listeners in Worcester-shire will be able to pick up the Herefordshire and Monmouthshire station at 106.2FM.”

Sunshine Radio also has a station covering the Shropshire area on 855AM.