A BBC radio station has suffered further decline in its fan base since ringing the changes a year ago.

Latest listening figures show BBC Southern Counties has lost 42,000 listeners a week during the past quarter and the average listener now tunes in for 12 minutes less each.

In April 2006 the station changed its line-up dramatically, replacing popular John Radford's breakfast show with Neil Pringle, the station's former managing editor.

Among other changes Richard Lindfield, from Southern FM, replaced Dominic Busby on Drivetime, Saturday night presenter Tommy Boyd took over Bill Buckley's afternoon slot, while Gordon Astley returned to the station after an absence of ten years to present the mid-morning show.

Popular host Ed Douglas was another departure.

The station now has 224,000 listeners, a loss of about 125,000 since figures peaked at 350,000 in 2002.

Bosses had hoped last quarter's figures, which were 36,000 higher than a year previously, signalled a turnaround for the station and will be disappointed with the latest results.

Spokeswoman Helen Burt said: "SCR has undergone some changes which we are very aware have not all been successful.

"What is important is that we keep listening to our audience to understand what they want from their local BBC station and we are working to make sure SCR provides this.

"Of course we will be looking at these latest figures to see what else we can learn.

"But this is a temporary setback and, as the success and support for our campaigns like the Smile appeal shows, people are still keen to be part of BBC Radio Southern Counties."

Spirit FM in West Sussex, which John Radford joined, has maintained its listener numbers, though fans now tune in for half an hour less each week.

It was a strong quarter for Southern FM which built up its listener base to its strongest since March 2003. It now reaches 358,000 listeners a week, 30,000 more than last quarter, with Danny and Nicky in the Morning adding 22,000 listeners to the total.

More people in Sussex now tune into it each week than to BBC Radio 2.

Southern FM programme controller Tony Aldridge said: "This has been a fantastic result and we believe that the developments made to the music, content and online platforms will continue to contribute to the growth of Southern FM."