AN IDEA that began in a Sherfield English barn is about to become Britain's newest digital TV station.

SoundTV - the brainchild of Sherfield English-based TV entertainer Richard Digance and comic and former Capital Radio presenter Mike Osman - hits the small screen in two weeks' time.

A host of top UK TV presenters are involved in the Chandler's Ford-based commercial station. They include Jethro, Chris Tarrant and the BBC Ground Force front man Tommy Walsh.

Bosses at SoundTV say the station will screen a wide-range of children's programmes and cartoons - most of which will be produced in-house. SoundTV will also have a studio facility in London. Two programmes - In the Club and The New Variety Show - will be filmed on location at Jethro's Comedy Club in Devon.

Station managing director, Mr Digance, said: "The channel has been two years in the making but I think with the public's tiredness of reality television, we couldn't be hitting the screens at a better time, Myself, Mike Osman and Jethro firmly believe there is room for both the established players like ourselves and new talent that had little or no chance to break onto British TV in the last five years."

He added: "It seems strange to me that a crazy idea that started in a barn at Sherfield English is now the most talked about channel in the country." SoundTV chiefs are hoping the station will become a stepping stone for new talent.

Amongst household names appearing on the new channel are Joe Pasquale, former page three pin-up Linda Lusardi, Bobby Davro, Phil Cool, David Copperfield, Status Quo, Brian Conley and Bill Wyman.

The free-to-view channel will be available to Sky Digital viewers nationwide. People already subscribing to Sky will automatically receive the new channel when it goes on air at 7pm on Saturday February 26th. When the station opens there will be a special 'Welcome to SoundTV' programme with Richard Digance, Mike Osman and Jethro.

SoundTV will not be a 24-hour station to start with. It will initially share channel 588 with Information TV between 4pm and midnight daily. Viewers can watch trailers for the new station on channel 588 until it launches. SoundTV bosses are currently waiting to hear from Sky what channel number the station will be allocated when it goes on air around the clock in the summer.

People interested in receiving SoundTV can log onto the company's website at www.soundtv.co.uk