United front in bid to beat pirate radio

A clampdown has been launched on pirate radio stations operating across London.

Councils are seeking court injunctions and anti- social behaviour orders to ban the rogue broadcasters from the capital.

They are also working to prevent the pirates from escaping across borough boundaries and displacing the problem.

Tower Hamlets, Newham and Barking, Hackney and Dagenham have joined forces to tackle a problem that they claim is often linked directly to drug-dealing.

Gangs use the illegal broadcasts to advertise secret raves where drugs are sold. They terrify residents living in tower blocks where they erect aerials, and council officials need police protection to carry out raids.

The move comes as Hackney prepares to remove its 50th mast of the year as part of a purge on crack houses and anti-social behaviour.

In addition, industry regulator Ofcom expects that by the end of the year it will have far surpassed the 589 operations it carried out in London in 2003 against pirates.

Councils have found that illegal operators charge people about ?30 for a short broadcasting slot - which drives them to petty crime to raise the payment.

Heather Mallinder, head of Tower Hamlets council's anti-social behaviour unit, who is leading the cross-borough clampdown, said the pirates were now also attaching aerials to mobile phone masts. The aerials are not always attached safely and the signals also interfere with emergency frequencies.