As part of the UK Meteorological Office’s ongoing rebranding exercise, which aims to give weather forecasting and statistics a bright new image, Radio One rap DJ Tim Westwood lent his inimitable style to The Shipping Forecast yesterday.

The Shipping Forecast, familiar to almost everyone living in Britain, has until now been a dry list of wind directions and speeds, recited in a flat monotone. Met Office officials blame this for the show’s poor ratings and negative customer feedback.

‘The Forecast contains important information for fishermen and other seafarers,’ explained broadcasting executive David Hill. ‘But that doesn’t mean we can’t try and make it attractive to the younger generation, to get them to take an interest in the prevailing conditions around Britain’s coastlines. We just needed to package it in a way that appealed to them, so we spoke to Tim and he was into the idea.’

And so yesterday, listeners tuning in to Radio Four may have been slightly shocked when, instead of the general synopsis, they heard Westwood bigging up the Lundy Fastnet massive, and sending them respect.

Over bass-heavy garage backing grooves laid down by fellow Radio 1-ers The Dreem Team, the self-proclaimed streetest DJ in the UK proceeded to alert shipping to impending weather fluctuations in the only way he knows how.

‘Yo Viking, how you doin’ up there guys?’ the man enquired. ‘Y’all got some seeeerious Northwesterly comin’ up fast on yo’ asses, y’know what I’m sayin’? Those waves gonna be large. I’m talking variable 5 to 7, nasty.’

As the Forecast continued, nautical types in the Humber Thames Dover area were informed that the fog ‘be billowin’ in a mean stylee’, while Forties Cromarty Forth Tyne Dogger were promised weather which was ‘moderate becoming wicked’.

Reaction to the new style Forecast was mixed. Listeners from northern regions such as Hebrides and Fair Isle were the least positive, complaining that the accent was ‘impenetrable’ and, in some cases, that the language was ‘not even English’.

‘What the hell was that?’ demanded Hebridean fisherman Fred McAllister. ‘So the wind direction overnight is going to be “all messed up”? I don’t even know what that means! And what’s that noise in the background? If I capsize tonight I’ll give them “big up”, I tell you that.’

But in the South, where the average age of the audience is younger and a more progressive attitude exists, the broadcast was welcomed with open arms.

‘Class!’ grinned Portland Wight yachting enthusiast Jared Hawes. ‘Man, I never liked listening to those dried up old geezers rattling on before, but Westwood rocks. Now I can take the dinghy out knowing what I’m going to be up against, and catch the latest tracks at the same time.’

Hawes added: ‘Can I send a big shout out to the Rockall posse? See you soon, guys.’

If the new forecast does succeed, expect other innovations from Radio Four, including Yesterday In Parliament with Mark Radcliffe and Lard, and Dave Pearce’s Desert Island Wax.