A hospital radio station has much to celebrate after attracting thousands of new listeners.

Last November Radio Horton started broadcasting 24-hours a day over the internet waves giving more than just hospital patients a chance to tune in.

And the move has proved a hit with listeners as thousands have logged on.

Station manager Stewart Green said: “We always felt there was a need for Radio Horton to be broadcast to the wider community but with 20,886 listeners joining us online this just proves that we are delivering a service people can’t get anywhere else.”

The station has also launched a string of new initiatives to appeal to a cross section of people in to the town from broadcasting from live events such as the Middleton Music festival, to new shows including Paper Talk, a Saturday morning review of local news for blind and partially sighted people.

Radio Horton, which started in 1964, has also won an award for the best Facebook page managed by local not-for-profit groups, as part of a Social Media Week run by website Banburyshire Info.