Pranksters keep hacking UK radio station to play 'I'm a w**ker' comedy song

A rogue radio prankster is being hunted by UK communications regulator Ofcom after hijacking the airwaves of a Nottinghamshire-based broadcaster to sing and play an expletive-ridden comedy song featuring multiple references to masturbation "at least eight times" in a month.

The station, Mansfield 103.2, was forced to lodge a complaint after its transmissions were repeatedly interrupted by unauthorised renditions of 1970's tune The Winker's Song, which features the word "wanker" more than 30 times, over the past three months.

Investigators believe the culprit is likely using his or her own transmitter to override the station's frequency - and there's little they can do to stop it.

Ofcom has reportedly sent a vehicle with tracking equipment three times to locate the hacker – but has been unsuccessful so far.

Station director Tony Delahunty said listeners hear a male voice with a local accent singing "I'm a w**ker, I'm a w**ker", before playing a version of the tune.

"I was 25 years old before I was kissed, then I found that I preferred a swift one off the wrist," the lyrics go.

One of the latest incidents happened during a live family event on Sunday 9 July, dubbed Party in the Market. Bosses from the radio station, which broadcasts to more than 200,000 people, believe the suspect to be "between 35 and 45-years-old" based on the voice interruptions.

Delahunty said that some listeners claimed their children had started to hum the tune after hearing it on the radio. "It's massively frustrating," he said.

"We have had calls from people who have found it hilarious, it is a catchy tune, while some have raised their concerns, including our competitors, and a lot of people in the industry are aghast at how difficult it is to stop these people," he continued.

"Some people now are listening to us who didn't before as they want to hear it happen - ironically it might be increasing our audience. But for listeners under the age of 11 travelling to school, it can be a very offensive thing for them to hear, so I just want it to stop."

An Ofcom spokesman commented: "Ofcom takes malicious radio interference extremely seriously. Our Spectrum Engineering Officers are working closely with Mansfield 103.2 to trace and identify those responsible for these criminal activities."

The regulator told The Guardian that interfering with signals carries a potential sentence of two years in prison and a hefty financial penalty. A spokesperson said such hacking "doesn't happen that often" as the gear required to take over the feed needs to be high-powered.

But Delahunty, speaking to the BBC, sounded irked with the lack of progress in the ongoing probe, in which local police is also now involved. "There's is absolutely nothing we could do about it and we're trying very hard to do something about it," he stressed.

"This is a clown but it exposes a situation that is available for, who knows a terrorist, that type of person, some idiot who wants to put emergency messages on," Delahunty added. "It could become an awful lot worse. The big problem is [...] you can't catch them."

This is not the first time radio transmissions have been infiltrated by tech-savvy pranksters. In January this year, it was revealed that multiple stations in the US were hacked to play a controversial rap song that repeated the phrase "F**k Donald Trump".