A desperate disc jockey from Keighley who hosted a show on a pirate radio station has been jailed for a total of two months.

Father-of-two Shabir Qamar presented a programme on Asian Paradise Radio twice a week to earn money after giving up an unpaid training course on another radio station.

He was detained by officers from the Radio Communications Agency when they swooped on the Bradford station to seize equipment from its attic studio.

Bradford magistrates heard last month how Asian Paradise Radio had operated illegally in the area for more than a decade despite previous convictions.

Nicholas White, prosecuting, said the radio station had caused problems for the Radio Communications Agency.

He added: "This particular unlawful radio station has been a thorn in the side of the flesh of that authority now for many years."

The court heard how signals from an illegal frequency were picked up last June from a transmitter at an unoccupied house which was linked to an attic studio in Gladstone Street, Bradford.

Officers from the agency then entered the house when they found a man who was believed to be one of the station's presenters.

Qamar, 32, of Bradford Road, Keighley, pleaded guilty to using Asian Paradise Radio for wireless telegraphy without the authority of a licence.

He also admitted driving while disqualified, having no insurance and failing to give his name and address to a police officer. The case was adjourned until yesterday for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Magistrates jailed Qamar for one month for the pirate radio offence and imposed another month for driving while disqualified.

Steve Higgins, mitigating, said Qamar had been offered a paid job to present two programmes a week and he jumped at the chance without thinking of the consequences.

He added: "The machinery and mechanics were absolutely nothing to do with him. He's not the brains behind the organisation.

"He found himself in difficult financial straits. Both offences have been committed out of desperation."

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