All Freeview viewers in north Shropshire and part of south Shropshire have been told they will need to retune their TVs and boxes today as the second phase of the digital switchover gets under way.

After the first phase of the switchover at The Wrekin and Ridge Hill transmitters, which was carried out on April 6, a number of TV viewers faced teething problems which were quickly rectified by a full retune.

The first phase of the digital switchover saw BBC transmissions boosted, with many digital viewers receiving a range of extra channels for the first time. Analogue BBC2 was switched off permanently.

In the early hours of this morning the second and final stage of switchover means the remaining analogue channels will be switched off permanently. Further Freeview channels from ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 will also become available from relay transmitters for the first time.

Peter Monteith, regional manager of Digital UK for the central region, said today’s switchover at The Wrekin transmitter would affect some 280,000 homes in north Shropshire and south Cheshire.

And he warned householders they faced losing channels if they did not conduct a full retune of their televisions and set-top boxes.

“Anybody who receives their signal terrestrially, for instance through Freeview boxes, will need to do a full retune of their equipment, otherwise some might find some channels missing.”

This, he said, was the case in a small number of instances after the first phase earlier this month.

Mr Monteith underlined the fact that viewers who receive transmissions through an aerial needed to perform a full re-tune, not simply conduct an auto retune.

The Switchover Help Scheme is still welcoming applications from older and disabled people to get help to convert one television. Those who have already signed up can contact 0800 40 85 900. Anyone experiencing problems with the digital switchover can contact the Digital UK helpline on 08456 50 50 50.

People who receive terrestrial TV transmissions from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter, including parts of south east Shropshire, are reminded that the switchover will happen in September.

By Ben Bentley

• Today is the second and final stage of the digital switchover at The Wrekin and Ridge Hill transmitters when all analogue channels will be switched off.
• The second phase will affect mainly commercial broadcasting channels such as ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
• In the area covered by the Shropshire Star there are an estimated 555,000 TVs.
• The estimated number of households which have converted their main set to digital is 210,000 or 91 per cent and rising.
• About 90,000 homes in the region with Freeview on their main set will need to re-tune at switchover.
• Those served by the Sutton Coldfield transmitter group will switch on September 7 and September 21.
• Viewers can check where their TV signal comes from by using the postcode checker on the Digital UK website at www.digitaluk.co.uk