BBC (6 x 30 mins)

Heartland fm is Britain's original small-scale independent local radio station. It was the first, in 1992, to be awarded a license, and it is the only radio station to broadcast 365 days a year without a single paid employee. Every aspect of the station is voluntary.

Heartland broadcasts four hours each weekday evening and 16 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. An army of volunteers keeps it on air, almost 60 broadcasters and another 40 volunteers, engineers and fundraisers.£24,000 a year is needed to cover costs. Some of this is raised by selling sponsorship and commercials, most of which are made on the station, the rest by selling bric a brac and home made jams.

The station serves an audience of just 7,500 across 1,000 square miles of Highland Perthshire, one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland.

By following the lives of some of those involved in the station, Heartland fm gives an insight into the rural community which it serves.