Leisure FM in Coggeshall stops broadcasting after 12 years

Leisure FM, in Coggeshall, was a dream for husband and wife duo Stephen and Debbie Flemming since 1992.

It officially launched in July 2010 and attracted a loyal audience in the Braintree district.

The radio station covered towns and villages around Halstead, Colchester, Chelmsford and Tiptree, as well as across the world via its website.

Broadcasting 24 hours, the station played music from the 1950s to the present day, all run by volunteers.

However, after a successful 12 years, the station stopped broadcasting last Saturday.

Howard Jardine was one of the breakfast show presenters for about 11 years, and he spoke about his time there.

He said: “It was a great experience being a presenter on the station, and it was a big part of my life.

“I was part of a great team, and one of the nice things about it was just turning up and getting it going, doing your show every day, getting texts in from listeners and regulars that are always there - the interaction was a big part of it, and I enjoyed that.”

Speaking of the closure, Howard said: “It was quite a shock. I did my show last Thursday, they called me after and told me we were closing on Saturday, but all good things must come to an end.

“It was also lovely to see the response from the public. You don’t know how many listeners you have, so the comments were great.”

In a statement, managing director Stephen Flemming said: "Thank you to everyone who has sent messages to our team. It is much appreciated and proves beyond doubt we had a great station over the past 12 years that was well received.

“You will never know how hard it was to turn off our transmitters. Even Ofcom asked us not to go, but times are changing, and we feel modern technology has moved on too much for us to compete.

“Our team will miss entertaining you more than you will ever know, and I feel sure memories of the past 12 years will stay with us all forever.

“Thank you so much for being a part of Leisure FM.”