The Save Radley Lakes' plan to seek Town Green status and thwart plans to dump spent fuel ash in Thrupp lake has moved a step forward.

SRL came up with the idea after the Government announced it would not be calling in the planning application by the owners of Didcot power station RWE npower.

The Town Green application has now been finalised, with evidence questionnaires from 84 people being submitted to the council.

Marjorie White, from SRL, said: "The really striking thing about the evidence presented was how many people had been using the lakes and for how long.

"People used to boat and swim there. Many families would go out to the lakes for the day, our own Blackpool "Three generations of some families have used the lakes for recreation. One man told us that he'd earned his Open Water Bronze Medallion there 30 years ago.

"Scouts and Guides used them regularly for camping and earning their badges. The children of Radley Primary School planted a line of trees alongside Thrupp lake. "Teenagers did their courting down by the lakes."

Jo Cartmell, of Peachcroft, in Abingdon, is leading the move to register the old gravel pits. She said that if land had been used as of right for lawful sports and pastimes by the inhabitants of a locality for at least twenty years, it could be registered as a town or village green.

If the County Solicitor approves, the views of the landowners would be sought, and if they objected a public inquiry could follow.

The action follows the success of a similar move in North Oxford to protect the Trap Grounds from city council plans to build homes on the site.