When cocktail waiter Nick Smith started working on community radio station Swindon 105.5, little did he know that six years later he would be looking to make a career on the airwaves.

But this week the 28-year-old, of Royal Wootton Bassett, started an internship with indie and alternative music station XFM, after consolidating his skills with the station in Shrivenham Road.

Mr Smith said: “XFM has always been my favourite music station and I’m pretty pleased that I’ve got here.

“I’ll be doing the sorts of things that I did in the early days with Swindon 105.5, seeking out local talent and promoting the music scene. I was just tweeting about XFM and the producer kept favouriting the tweets, so I decided to contact him and they offered me the job.”

In 2008, Mr Smith was working in an Old Town bar when he met Swindon 105.5 station manager Shirley Ludford and started training with her at the original studios in the County Ground before it launched in March of that year.

He said: “I had gone to uni to study law, but I didn’t understand a word of it so I came home and started working in bars.”

One night, Ms Ludford popped in for a drink and Mr Smith plucked up the courage to ask her to train him in radio.

When Swindon 105.5 went live, Mr Smith presented The Late Gig, promoting new talent and creating shows that would later get him spotted by producers at XFM.

He said: “I could not have done so well without the continued support I received from Shirley.

“I had wanted to get into radio for a long time and was willing to put in the hours to do it well.”

Mr Smith enjoyed work on the Late Gig show so much it earned him a place at Bournemouth University where he graduated in media law and radio.

He then went on to present on the Breakfast show.

Mr Smith expects to remain a feature at Swindon 105.5, with regular visits to the station.

Ms Ludford said: “Nick has an infectious exuberance and passion about live and new music.

“I am delighted he has now been offered an internship with XFM. It is a perfect next step for him and I am proud he’s done so well.”