A community radio station, which suddenly went off-air last month, is now being investigated by broadcasting watchdog Ofcom.

SFM is now back broadcasting at its Sittingbourne base.

But in April presenters and volunteers were locked out of the building in Crescent Hall, Central Avenue, Sittingbourne.

The team received no explanation why and were told not to contact Pete Flynn, the station director.

Ofcom began to assess the station at the end of last month as it stated the station was not meeting the terms of its licence, which says it must have 12 hours of original content each day.

Just before it went off-air SFM was playing automatically selected music and an announcement said it had “gremlins in the system”.

On Monday, April 24, the station began broadcasting live again.

Ofcom announced this week it had launched its investigation.

A spokesman said: “All community radio stations licensed by Ofcom must meet the obligations set out in their licence agreement.

“We’re investigating whether SFM Radio 106.9 is broadcasting in line with its licence obligations.”

SFM, which has been running for five years, has been contacted for comment.