The closure of Oxford’s busiest internal road on a peak pre-Christmas shopping day was handled by Oxfordshire County Council with what seemed to me its characteristic carelessness where highway matters are concerned.

Council cabinet member Rodney Rose told our reporter that he “believed” there was adequate signage alerting drivers to Botley Road’s closure on Sunday while a burst water main was repaired.

Mr Rose might therefore care to explain how it was that at 10.30am I found the road solidly filled with cars stretching back from the Road Closed sign near Binsey Lane (see above) to way beyond Seacourt Tower.

Watching idly for 15 minutes or so in the sunshine I saw drivers looking at first puzzled, and then irate, before turning back from what I assume in many cases had been trips to do the Christmas shopping.

On the evidence of my eyes, it seemed likely they had no notion that the road was blocked. So I pedalled off west to see why this might have been.

Despite Mr Rose’s ‘belief’ in a sign at Seacourt traffic lights, I did not see one. Indeed, I saw no warning notice on the road anywhere between the blockage and the A34 flyover. In the other direction, meanwhile, people requiring access to Osney and Osney Mead (both still accessible) were turning back as a result of a barrier in Frideswide Square.

Adequate? I do not think so.

Finally, a pat on the back for contractors Clancy Docwra, whose gang had worked through from Saturday night to repair the leak. Tired as they probably were, all the men I saw dealt with members of the public with commendable courtesy.