"GOOD morning Verwood" - that cry could soon be resounding over the airwaves as a licence is granted for East Dorset's very own radio station.

Years of hard work have paid off and regulator Ofcom has granted Forest FM a full-time broadcast licence. It will be on air 24 hours a day seven days a week 365 days a year from the spring.

And the station hopes to give local talent a good showcase.

Steve Saville, station manager, said: "Forest FM will be operated by local people for local people and members of the community will be able to participate. This will give local people a voice. We'll be broadcasting information on anything from refuse times to the new community centre.

"Verwood is the first and only location in East Dorset to be granted such a licence. It will only be broadcast in East Dorset but if someone went online they could listen to us in New York.

"We'll give airtime to local bands and musicians. We'll have designated slots for specialist music such as rock, folk and jazz and we'll play plenty of oldies - similar to the music they play on Radio Two.

"I've been campaigning for a truly local station for 20 years. We had a trial in 1999 and have had the occasional 25-day broadcast."

The station will be half grant-funded and half funded by advertising so there will be various fund-raising events over the coming months.

Studios have already been secured at the Ebblake Industrial Estate but they still need to be fitted out with top-notch equipment.

The frequency will be announced in the coming weeks. The station is expected to go live in April.