COMMUNITY station Radio Verulam scooped first place in a prestigious quiz, beating teams from national BBC and commercial stations.

The team, led by West Herts Drivetime presenter Danny Smith, came top in the Radio Academy Christmas Quiz which was attended by 21 teams including Magic, Smooth and BBC6 Music.

They won the quiz by one-and-a-half points after answering a series of questions ranging from general knowledge and tough pop trivia to Bob Dylan cover versions and radio jingles.

Danny said: “Bearing in mind that we are a small community station up against big commercial and BBC teams we didn’t think we stood a chance. The previous winners were BBC Radio 2.

“No-one was more surprised than us to discover at the end of the evening that we won.

“Even after they had read out all of the other team places up to second position and we still hadn’t been mentioned, we did not believe it was us.”

The team returned from the prestigious event with a trophy that will take pride of place in the Radio Verulam studios. The next Radio Academy quiz is in the summer of 2011 and Radio Verulam will be seeking to retain their crown.