E.B.N.
A malfunctioning digital TV set-top box started broadcasting an S.O.S message on an emergency frequency, causing a 2-hour search-and-rescue operation in the Portsmouth Harbour area.
“We traced it to Portsmouth Harbour, checked and found out there were no vessels in the area or missing planes.”
The rescue centre then contacted Ofcom which was able to establish it was coming from a household.
Digital boxes shouldn’t be sending out signals, let alone maydays Ofcom spokesman Mr Mulford added: “This is very very unusual, it’s a complete freak and the odds of a digibox sending out such a signal must be astronomical.
“The guy who owns it really should do the lottery because the chances of sending out a signal from a digibox and sending out precisely and exactly on a major emergency channel are far more than 14 million to one.”
More to the point, a naval emergency in Portsmouth is dealt with by sending a helicopter from Kinloss?