A HOSPITAL radio station has much to celebrate after attracting thousands of new listeners and winning an award.

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: “The figures just in are amazing.

“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 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.

Mr Green said: “This is a fantastic addition to our programme line-up. Banbury Talking Newspaper provides the news for us, which is then broadcast not only across the hospital via the hospital network, but also serves the wider community through our online broadcast via www.radiohorton.co.uk.”

Today the station will be involved in the pre-carnival celebration at Bonito’s Wine Bar, in Banbury.

The station also broadcasts live from the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Deddington on the first two Sundays of each month, provides live commentary from Banbury United Saturday home games, and offers a range of different programmes, from country music, to showtime, rock and roll and classical.

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.

Mr Green added: “We're all really pleased to have won the social media competition.

“Our presenters are all volunteers and give their time freely to support and promote the hospital radio station.

“This is a big accolade for them. They're the heart and soul of the station.

“Winning the competition will help our Facebook fan page grow even more and increase the audience to our online radio service.”