The new park and ride in Bicester is officially open today after helping to ease some of the Black Friday traffic.

The 580-space addition is hoped to ease congestion in and out the town and proved a big help as overflow parking during the busy period for Bicester Village shoppers over the weekend.

Now officially open, public use of the park and ride site - off Vendee Drive near Kingsmere - is free and served daily by the Stagecoach S5 service offering direct links to Bicester and Oxford.

Countryside Properties Ltd provided the land for the scheme while the cost of construction was funded by Bicester Village which will operate a shuttle service through the site during peak trading periods.