Fans of the shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4 got an extra dose of maritime coverage when the coastguard asked presenters John Humphrys and Evan Davis to broadcast to a sailor who was calling for help on the wrong channel. The Sun reports that the sailor was sending the call on Channel 16, which is the international radio frequency for distress signals, and the coastguards could hear the Today programme in the background so they gave the show a tinkle and asked them to tell the mariner to change to the right one. A spokesman said: "We have a hotline to the BBC. They said it was the first time in the show's history they had asked a listener to turn his radio off."
