Two DJs have been taken off the air after making allegedly inappropriate comments in their breakfast show.

DJs Martin Day and Su Harrison, who present the Essex FM breakfast show, were replaced on Monday morning by other presenters from the radio station.

Listeners were given an apology for the content of Martin and Su's show on Friday, but fans have been stunned by the pair's absence.

Some reported that the removal was because of a joke the risque twosome made about a news story on boy scouts and condoms.

In particular, there was said to have been a rude rhyme about the issue and a request for readers to text in their ideas.

But chiefs at Essex FM, based in Chelmsford, were tight-lipped about the incident and said the pair would remain off-air while they investigated what happened.

Chris Cotton, the station's programme controller, said: "I can't really go into it based on the nature of the comments that were made. But it wasn't an insult.

"Martin and Su haven't been removed permanently.

"It's appropriate to have gone off the air while we discuss the implications of what happened last week.

"Whatever the outcome is, we will be happy to explain the situation then.

"I have every hope that the outcome will be positive and that Martin and Su will return."

The disappearance of the pair from the show has caused consternation among their fans. Some were planning to protest outside the station's offices in Chelmsford today demanding their immediate return.

And there were even some reports that concerned listeners had called Essex Police to make sure the pair were OK.

Organiser Tania Furber, 32, of St John's Way,Corringham, said: "Lots of us are planning to protest with banners.

"I love them, they wake me up in the morning. Nothing else compares.

"They just like a joke. It's not fair they have gone off air."

A group supporting the pair has been created on the social networking site Facebook and has attracted more than 200 members.