ASPIRING DJs are being urged to hit the airwaves on a volunteer-run radio station hosted from a Whetstone living room.

Barnetradio.com, transmitted over the internet, currently receives only around 20 listeners a night, and its founders are keen to get more talent on board.

Nine DJs man the decks between 6pm and 12am every day except Wednesday, playing a mixture of pop, rock, reggae, funk and R&B.

They hope, by opening up the station to all residents in the borough, to expand the content to sports, news and current events.

Speaking from "the bunker" - a house in Woodside Lane, Whetstone, where full DJ decks and disco lights create a professional-looking studio - Mark Rebbeck, 42, was enthusiastic about Barnetradio.com's prospects.

Mr Rebbeck, aka DJ Reb-Ska, took over control of the station with his friend, John Oliver, after the original founder left in April.

He said: "It's all about giving as diverse a picture of Barnet as possible. We want to get as many people involved as we can, and give them complete freedom to do whatever they like on their show.

"We especially want to encourage young people to take an interest, and we would love to have someone on to broadcast about Barnet FC.

"Ultimately we'd like it to be a tool to service the community, providing information and entertainment."

Thirty-eight-year-old Mr Oliver, or DJ Johno, plays a two-hour jukebox set twice a week and frequently fills in for other DJs when they cannot make their slot.

He is also the main funder for the station, which costs £46 a month for the website and server.

He said: "It started off as a bit of fun, but we are very serious about it now. We want it to be successful and serve the whole area.

"Our mentality, which will never change, is that your show is your show. As long as it's not offensive - ie we don't encourage a three-hour session of gangster rap - we are open to absolutely anything."

The DJs often play their shows from the bunker, owned by 51-year-old ex-professional DJ Alan Jackson, but they stressed that anyone could do a show from their home computer.

All they would need is a cheap microphone and headset - and bucketloads of enthusiasm.

Mr Jackson used to DJ for Kiss FM and other professional stations around the world in the Seventies and Eighties, but stopped "for the love of a woman" in 1984.

He was initially reluctant to sign up to Barnetradio.com, but now plays regular shows on the site.

He said: "It is getting bigger and bigger, but we need more people to know about it.

"It's a huge amount of fun."

Anyone who wants to listen to Barnetradio.com or learn how to get involved can visit www.barnetradio.com