A well established voluntary radio station has kicked off a fundraising campaign so it can be on air round-the-clock by its 30th anniversary in June next year.

Radio Camelot, which is based at and serves Yeovil District Hospital, needs about £2,000 in order to purchase the required computer equipment.

Priority number one is to buy a computer that would allow pre-programming so the station can be on air for 24 hours a day.

In addition, there is also an urgent need to replace the existing library computer, which is about ten years old and has a poor memory.

"The hospital has done well and is moving on, and we want to move on with the hospital," Radio Camelot chairman Michael Mesure said.

He said that the running costs of the station were very big. The station once had a phone link to Huish Park to enable live broadcast, but had to pull the plug because it struggled to meet BT charges, Mr Mesure said.

He hopes it will be possible to strike up a partnership with the station that eventually wins the fight for a permanent Yeovil licence from the Radio Authority, so that live football can return to the menu.

The fundraising got off to a good start last weekend when a marathon broadcast raised about £600. About 12 volunteers took turns to man the studio to produce 51 hours of non-stop radio.

MP David Laws was in the studio early on and was interviewed on air by Cathy Pickford.

Those wishing to make a contribution to Radio Camelot, which is a charity, or get in touch for what ever reason (such as requesting a specific song, for example) can do so by calling 01935 384499.