Youngsters will be able to hear their own songs played on the airwaves following the launch of an internet radio station.

The Bridge Youth Centre in Kingston Road, Leatherhead, launched Spiral FM on Wednesday, March 3 to air music created at the centre and playlists that youngsters choose.

The community radio station is hoping to keep young people in the town occupied during their spare time.

Lesley Spiers, neighbourhood youth worker for north Mole Valley, said: "The aim of the project is to create a radio station run by young people for young people.

"The whole project has been running for a few months now and we have six enthusiastic young people involved who are excited about finally launching the station."

Miss Spiers said the youngsters learned how to design a website and logo, create a timetable for weekly shows and how to host radio shows.

To officially launch the radio station the group organised a gig at the centre for local bands to play live on air.

Miss Spiers continued: "Once the station is up and running the youngsters will do weekly shows for a couple of hours on Wednesday nights playing a range of musical genres.

"The shows will also feature a live lounge-style section at which local bands can play a set and be aired live on the station to audiences across the globe.

"In future the group will train other young people how to use the station to reach wider audiences with different musical tastes and interests. We hope that the radio station will become a popular feature within the community."

Sam Seidel, 17, of Randalls Road, Leatherhead, is part of the group behind Spiral FM.

He said: "Having a radio station is a great tool for promoting local bands and I am looking forward to having new up and coming bands come into our show and to being able to stream live onto our website.

"If we get the listeners we can help the bands get more out there and heard by a wider audience.

"It's a good working project with a lot of potential, we just need more support from listeners and hopefully we can gain a good audience in the weeks to come."

He added: "I would like to see more of the youth around the area getting involved, making more of a community for young people to have a good time."

In addition, Miss Spiers has also set up a sexual health clinic at the youth centre. She said: "We have a sexual health nurse on board and are able to distribute free condoms, Chlamydia screening and emergency hormone contraception."

As well as these new projects, youngsters aged between 11 and 19 can still enjoy the drop-in sessions at the Bridge on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

At these sessions young people can take part in a variety of activities, including trips to Leatherhead Theatre.