THE longest competition in the history of radio station Mix 107 came to an end last week but only after radio bosses revealed the answer.

Tens of thousands of listeners tried in vain to guess the noise as the Secret Sound competition rumbled on for 279 days.

Listeners have tuned into the High Wycombe-based station every day since last summer as the cash pot prize steadily rose from £10 to £3,000. But despite clues, no one managed to guess the sound, which was finally announced on April 29.

Andy Muir, station manager, said: "The money started at just £10, and grew steadily day by day. I think in the end it was driving us all nuts so we decided to give clues (and eventually the answer) and draw a winner on the Big Fun Breakfast. In the end, the competition proved so popular we had more than 90,000 hits on the website."

The secret noise that had kept everyone guessing was the sound of someone pressing the foot switch on an Anglepoise floor lamp.