OXFORDSHIRE County Council has said it was a “genuine oversight” that nobody was consulted about the location of a new bike rack.

It launched the £150,000 Oxonbike scheme on Thursday, allowing cyclists to use one of 30 bicycles free for up to half an hour.

They will be available at seven cycle hire racks in Headington.

But one of them has been put outside the entrance of St Andrews school in London Road, where there is already a normal cycle rack.

County council spokesman Owen Morton said: “Ideally both the local member and staff at the school would have been informed, and this appears to have been a genuine oversight.

“If the cycle rack is genuinely causing problems, we’re more than happy to discuss these with both the school and local member. However, the location was chosen as no other viable option could be identified, both in terms of meeting the needs of the hire scheme and minimising potential disruption to the public.”

County councillor for Headington Roz Smith said: “It is a fantastic scheme but there has been no consultation with either the councillors or the school.”

The scheme is being piloted in Headington for two years.