A Basildon pirate radio DJ today denied he was to blame for ruining the fledgling Eastgate FM's broadcasts.

Paul, otherwise known as DJ Recall, said the town's two illegal stations were not causing problems.

Eastgate FM bosses have claimed their transmissions across Basildon are being interrupted because local pirates insist on using their 87.9FM frequency.

But Recall, who represents Charge FM and Class FM, said: "We are not interfering with their frequency.

"The problems are being caused by Shine FM, based in London, which does use the same frequency as Eastgate FM and has a high power transmitter.

"They were closed down but have come back up again and they're wiping out Eastgate FM.

"We're on a completely different frequency and I think it's a bit silly to try to share."

Community station Eastgate FM has paid around £7,000 for a 28-day licence but hopes to become a permanent fixture on the airwaves if local firms can offer sponsorship.

Boss Steven King suggested setting up a single frequency for all pirates in the area and making them pay to use it for two hours a day.

But Recall said the idea would never work.

He said: "People would get confused about who was on and it would take away the whole point of being a pirate station.

"Besides, we play illegal underground samples from other songs so we would never get a licence.

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