DRIVERS were stranded for several hours at a service station in Oxford after a gas leak.

Police sealed off the Pear Tree services at the junction of the A44 Woodstock Road and the A34 shortly after 3pm yesterday.

Customers at the service station said they were not allowed to start their engines to leave the area, and new customers were turned away at the entrance.

The shutdown followed a leak from the gas tank of an LPG-powered vehicle.

The services reopened at about 5.15pm, but the fuel forecourt remained closed for some time.

Bus users were also kept waiting after drivers stopped dropping off and picking up passengers at the neighbouring park-and-ride centre, instead turning round on a nearby slip road.