WHIPPS Cross University Hospital Radio is celebrating its 40th birthday.

The station was formed by the Walthamstow Lions Club in 1969 and first broadcast a year later.

It broadcasts a mix of requested music and interviews patients and staff, while football fans can follow the fortunes of Leyton Orient and West Ham United through live coverage.

The station is on air 24 hours a day to around 800 beds at the Leytonstone hospital.

One of the most famous celebrities to spend time at the station is the pop singer Amy Winehouse who, as a child, visited the studio when her step mother Julie Evans worked there.

"She was very quiet. She sat in the corner drawing. She was no bother at all," Phil Hughes, the station manager, said.

Other luminaries who have connections with the station include ex-presenter of That's Life Chris Serle, who began his media career as a DJ with the station.

Ralph Bernard, a well known radio executive who launched Classic FM, also started out Whipps Cross.

Mike Jones, 61, presenter, said: "We try and weed out those who are looking to make a career for themselves because what's the point in training them if they are going to leave very soon after? We are a voluntary service. We do not want to waste our time."

He added: "We have a range of music that other commercial stations can't offer.

“We ask the patients what they want to hear so you can listen to a song in the charts, followed by a song sung by Pavarotti and a Gospel song.

“Most mainstream station’s playlists are very narrow so you often hear the same songs over and over again."

The station often sends tapes of patient interviews to grieving families.

Mr Hughes said: "We often get thank you letters from families who grateful for the tapes because it is often the last recording of them alive.

“We try to get people to talk about things outside of hospital and that often means they aren't thinking about what's wrong with them for five or ten minutes of the day meaning they are happy on air."