THE closure of a community radio station has been described as a “massive loss” to the town where it was based.

West Wolds Radio, in Pocklington, which was only launched last November, ceased broadcasting today due to a lack of volunteers.

The station was expected to close in April but directors and volunteers put together a rescue plan to keep it on the air.

However, despite their best efforts, they recently made the difficult decision to close it.

Tony Marron, who was one of the station’s directors, said: “We couldn’t get enough people to keep the station running. There are certain commitments you have to do, and we couldn’t fulfil those commitments without more volunteers.

“I am very sad. We believe in the community aspect of radio but we couldn’t get enough people in the community involved. But we all enjoyed it and worked very hard to keep it going.

“The volunteers were working long hours on it and it was becoming a job rather than something you do voluntarily, bearing in mind no-one was getting paid.”

Mr Marron says the station’s team did everything they could to keep it on the airwaves.

Another former director, Jeff Shepherd, said: “It is a massive loss to Pocklington. It is a fantastic community asset that had just started to get going but due to the lack of volunteers we couldn’t keep it going.”

The station's founder, Stuart Cocker, added: "I’d like to thank the dedicated volunteers who’ve helped make West Wolds Radio a great community radio service for Pocklington and surrounding communities."

West Wolds Radio went live on November 29, 2015, 20 months after Pocklington was granted an FM licence by the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom.