West TV homes report 'Welsh problem'

Certain Freeview households in the West TV region have complained about receiving Welsh TV signals during the digital switchover in a recurrence of the 'Welsh problem'.

Yesterday, the Medip transmitter group covering Bristol, parts of Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire switched off analogue BBC Two in the first stage of the switchover process.

On April 7, the remaining analogue channels - BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five - will be permanently switched off, with Freeview signals boosted in their place.

However, certain viewers in the region were left receiving television signals from Wales after retuning their equipment as advised. It is thought that up to 30,000 homes could have been affected by the situation.

Known as the 'Welsh problem', the issue occurs because a Welsh mast transmits at a similar frequency to other relays nearby, which causes an overlapping signal.

Similar problems were reported last October in North Devon following a nationwide Freeview retune and after the switchover started in the Granada TV region last December.

Speaking to BBC News, Digital UK South West regional manager Bill Taylor advised any affected viewers to visit the organisation's website to get advice on manual retuning.

He said that the problem was "just an outcome of the physics of broadcasting" as signals from different transmitters are often picked up by receiver equipment.

"I understand people's frustration, but it is not the case that anyone has made a mistake," said Taylor.

"It is a natural consequence of living in an overlap area between two transmitters."

Digital UK said that homes close to the Bristol Channel and Forest of Dean could also experience the problem after retuning.