Black Country Radio has thanked listeners for their support after a Lye man was jailed for two years at Wolverhampton Crown Court, following a burglary last year which took the station off-air.

Yesterday, Jason John Pettit pleaded guilty to the raid on the station’s former premises at St. John’s Church in Stourbridge moments before he was due to stand trial. Black Country Radio CEO, Alex Totney, said:

"It was a real shock to us all at the time but it brought out the best in the local community which we try to serve – we had donations from the public totalling almost £1000 to help replace equipment.

"We’d just like to say a huge thank you to all Black Country Radio listeners for helping us through what was a very dark day and showing us how much they care.

"We’d also like to pay tribute to West Midlands Police who have been absolutely fantastic throughout."

Drug addict Pettit, who has over 120 previous convictions, stole thousands of pounds of equipment in the theft last September and was identified by police who reviewed CCTV images.