NEWS presenter Wesley Smith is to hit Oxfordshire airwaves — thanks to pleas from Oxford Mail readers.

Radio station BBC Oxford has signed up the former ITV Thames Valley Tonight anchorman for a regular Saturday afternoon show, starting on June 13.

Mr Smith said: "The show is really exciting and I am delighted to be joining the team at BBC Oxford."

The former TV presenter, who was made a casualty of station cutbacks in February, was invited to co-present a Bank Holiday special at the station with BBC TV news anchor Geraldine Peers.

According to assistant editor Will Banks, who said the BBC watched the Oxford Mail campaign with interest, the station was inundated with calls from Wesley fans.

He said: “We realised how much love there was for Wesley and it was an obvious choice to make.”

Wesley Smith will be on BBC Oxford 95.2FM, between noon and 2pm from June 13.