Troubled Swindon radio station Brunel FM has gone off the air.

Administrators pulled the plug on the station on Wednesday evening along with four other commercial radio stations in the same group after months of uncertainty over their future ownership.

Brunel FM along with Bath FM, and two QuayWest FM stations in Somerset have switched to continuous music while 3TR FM in Warminster is silent.

The stations’ former parent company, South West Radio, went into administration last year.

Efforts by the new operator, Your Media Communications Group, to take ownership of the station licences were rebuffed by the media regulator, Ofcom.

South West Radio’s former licences are now in the hands of the Devon-based administrators Kirk Hills.

This would be the third time that Brunel FM had faced the administrators in a history which has generally been a troubled one.

Around 30 people were employed by the five stations and have been made redundant. In the past law firm Ashfords LLP and insolvency practitioners, Kirk Hills, helped secure the sale of the radio stations to Your Media Communications Ltd but they declined to comment on the current situation.

Brunel FM had had a history of problems and there were financial difficulties in the past when staff had not been paid their wages.

The station had also had its wrist slapped by media regulator Ofcom when it was found the Swindon station had no presenters on air and no local material was actually broadcasted.

According to the Radio Today website, Star Radio Cheltenham is close to agreeing a deal for all assets and broadcast licences at the stations. Should the deal go ahead, then the five networks could be back on air as early as next week.