Sir Cliff Richard's hit songs may have been given the cold shoulder by national radio but there is one station that can't get enough of him.

The Peter Pan of pop has told fans he has no more plans to make records after his songs were dropped from playlists.

Now hospital radio DJ Ray Blunt plans to dedicate an entire show to the 64-year-old crinkly crooner.

Ray, who is two years Cliff's junior, said: "I am doing it as a protest against the radio stations which have removed him from their playlists.

"I am from that era and the contribution Cliff has made to British music is far too important to be dismissed like that."

Ray does three shows a week as a volunteer DJ with Seaside Hospital Radio.

The station puts out programmes for patients at Southlands Hospital at Shoreham to cheer them up and make their stay more pleasant.

Its broadcasts have also recently been extended to include the wards at Worthing General Hospital.

Ray said: "One of the shows I do is Sixties At Seven, which goes out on Wednesdays at 7pm.

"I will be playing 17 of Cliff's hits, including Living Doll, The Young Ones, Summer Holiday and We Don't Talk Anymore, which all made it to No1.

"None of the other songs I will be playing went into the charts any lower than number ten.

"There are not many other artists or bands who can match that and it is a shame Cliff is being treated in this way by the big radio stations."

Ray became a hospital radio broadcaster after retiring early from his job as training director for an insurance company.

He is a guitarist and has played in a number of bands during the past 43 years.

Ray, of Hawkins Crescent, Shoreham, said: "I have given up the bands and am a happy pensioner. But I still wanted to do something with my music.

"The opportunity came up to get into hospital radio so I did the training and now I put out three shows a week.

"We were mostly broadcasting to patients at Southlands Hospital and recently started going out at Worthing General.

"The station will officially be launched on October 8 and we are hoping to get a local councillor or celebrity to do the honours for us."

He plans to sign off the Cliff Richard night on Wednesday with Miss You Nights, his personal favourite from the star's collection.

Ray said: "We still get a lot of requests for his music, despite what other radio stations think of him.

"He is in our top ten of most requested artists alongside other greats like Frank Sinatra.

"The most requested song is Summer Holiday because it is bright and cheers up people who are not feeling too well."