Wakened at dawn by the sound of a Psalm booming out from from a loudspeaker my first thought was that it was the Caribbean island of Barbuda’s call to prayer. With a population of fewer than 1,500 and seven churches, that seemed quite likely.

But a long item on the forthcoming draw for a raffle prize suggested otherwise. Two loudspeakers on the top of of a house is the island’s hyperlocal news service MRS Radio run by Ordrick Samuel, known as Jicky.

The following morning there was news that a black handbag had been found. Who did it belong to? With the population clustered in one settlement the loudspeakers provide a low cost and effective way of disseminating news and paid-for announcements.

The island which is a part of the state of Antigua and Barbuda is unlike any other Caribbean island I have visited. The restaurants and shops have no signs because everyone knows them in this tight-knit community where no one who is not a Barbudan is allowed to build a house.

The island was held on a lease from the British crown by the Codrington family, who owned plantations in other islands. Barbuda was not included in the emancipation of slaves act of 1834. It was not until 1880 when that lease ran out that the people gained their freedom and their own lease on the island.

This communal control of the land has prevented the spread of development seen on other islands. The people have leased a few enclaves for international hotels of extreme luxury. Princess Diana twice stayed at one which is now closed. Coco Point with its own private airstrip is now offering rooms at more than US$1,000 a night. We stayed in a simple guest house run by McArthur and Natalie Nedd in the village.

Back in my Suffolk village of Debenham (population 2,000) I find there is local news which deserves to be broadcast. But I doubt if a couple of loudspeakers on top of my house would go down well.