A reggae DJ whose popular Notting Hill Carnival soundsystem is under threat after 32 years has been taken aback by the amount of people supporting him.

More than 8,000 people have signed a petition backing Channel One Sound System to remain at the carnival after Westminster Council announced DJ Mikey Dread and two others - Sir Lloyd and Killawatt - will have to apply for a permanent, premises licence instead of the normal temporary licence.

The popular reggae soundsystem has been based on the corner of Westbourne Park Road and Leamington Road Villas for the past 20 years and was elsewhere in Europe’s biggest street festival 12 years prior to that.

Getwestlondon broke the news yesterday of the soundsystem’s predicament and since then thousands of readers have been tweeting and spreading the word via social media to urge the council to let them play on the August bank holiday, despite 11 residents, the Met Police and director of public health objecting to the licence application.

BBC London picked the story up from getwestlondon and Time Out has been giving their plight air time.

Mikey Dread says the crowds are peaceful and they are very conscientious. Pic: Nick Caro

The DJ said: “The response from people has been amazing, people from all over the world have been showing their support through social media and messages as they sign the petition. We’ve made it onto loads of media, I just can’t believe it.

“We’ve got a decision meeting with the council next Wednesday morning so I hope they will see how much support we have. It’s ridiculous people have objected against us as we’re very peaceful and we always stick to the rules which say we must turn off the music sharp at 7pm.

“We’ve told them we’ll turn the music off at once if we see any crime or disorder in the crowd, we have safety barriers and every hour we announce to parents to keep an eye on their children. We will do as much as we can to ensure it stays peaceful.”

Adam Hug, the Westbourne ward councillor, wrote to the licensing team in July saying residents are concerned granting the permanent licence will make it more difficult to raise future concerns about the operation of sound systems and their impact on the community.

However supporters have branded the objectors as ungracious, with Amanda Bradley from Notting Hill saying: “Two days out of 365 is no big deal, those of us who are lucky to live in W11 should be able to tolerate graciously this awesome music festival and be happy to share our streets with the many who wish to be part of it all.”

Find the petition here .