TO understand what 6,000 words might look like on a page, close your eyes and imagine Brakespeare spread to four full pages of this newspaper – and you’d begin to get some idea.

Now try reading out those 6,000 words and you’ll get some idea of what listeners to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire got the other day, as station manager David Harvey set about explaining to mid-morning presenter Andy Harper how he was dealing with cuts of up to 20 per cent in his budget.

For starters, he explained why the Radio Cambs charity Trustline had to go: “It’s an ongoing process that involves a considerable amount of time that I haven’t got, and the rest of my management team haven’t got, in actually making sure that from a charity point of view, Trustline is run legally and proper.”

He expounded the economics of running a local radio station and, answering listeners’ questions, explained why some freelances, such as country music presenter Helen West, were dropped.

“I still get on with Helen,” he hastened to add. “She’s not waiting outside to stab me in the back.

“And I would hope that Helen will still play a part on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire in the future. I would like her to come back and do some shows.”

He also admitted early-morning presenter Andy Gall was a freelance and so, therefore, could be dropped to save money as, too, was drivetime host Antonia Brickell.

Neither, however, got the Helen West-style eulogy, suggesting that he may already be regretting her broadcasting demise.

“I like Helen a lot,” he added. “I can see there’s an awful lot of love for her.”