FOLLOWING a News Shopper story about mysterious malfunctioning car alarms in Meopham, the paper was inundated with calls and emails from around the world.

Meopham residents began to complain when their cars' remote-controlled locking systems suddenly started playing up.

They were locked out of their cars, or unable to start their engines and alarms were going off at all hours.

Prime suspect was the nearby Vodaphone mast but the company said it was unlikely to be the cause pointing out the mast had been there unchanged for years.

Meopham resident John Broad, 67, said: "It's mystifying. We're at the end of our tether. If any readers can give us a clue as to why this is happening we want to hear from them."

Many radio enthusiasts emailed from the United States, having read the story online, after Vodaphone said the problem may be caused by amateur radio hams.

Electrical engineer Peter Simpson, from West Newton, Massachusetts said: "Ironically, it may be those same radio hams who will find the cause for you."

He said many clubs had radio detectives who might help trace the source of the problems.

Other US radio hams suggested harmonics, faint echoes at lower frequencies caused by clashing radio waves, were to blame.

Other readers expounded the theory but Vodaphone says while harmonics do occur, the signal is so weak it would not affect cars.

Several transatlantic readers say the problem is common near US military bases.

IT consultant Stefano Innocenti, from Rome, said: "We have something similar in Italy. Very often, those problems were caused by a TV transmitter made in China."

Back in England, Power Watch director Alasdair Philips is one of many blaming new TETRA masts.

TETRA is a new radio system used by emergency services, operated by telecom company O2 but its nearest mast is four miles away in Fairseat.

A Home Office spokesman says TETRA should not interfere with other radio equipment, provided equipment is properly installed and maintained.