IT'S frustrating enough being told you can't use your bike somewhere – it's twice as bad when you get told you can and can't at the same time.

That is what cyclists at Oxford railway station are now being told by confusing new signs which have been branded "officious nonsense".

Station managers have put up two sets of apparently contradictory signs for the footbridge from the station over Botley Road: one blue sign directs cyclists and pedestrians over the bridge, while a second sign on the bridge itself says "no cycling".

Broken Spoke bike co-operative shared a picture of the daft directions on its Facebook page and followers were quick to vent spleen.

Ann Furtado commented: "It's the usual officious nonsense which will be ignored by those cyclists who are actually a problem and remain an irritation to those of us who cycle slowly and give pedestrians plenty of room in shared space."

Co-op member Kiro Hadjiev said: "I don't use that footbridge that often but if cyclists don't go too fast they're not going to be a danger to anyone else."

Broken Spoke director Sam Chappell, who shared the Facebook post, complained to Great Western Railway which manages Oxford station on behalf of owners Network Rail, saying the company should be encouraging low-carbon transport and questioning why staff had put up two contradictory sets of signs.

Great Western Railway customer support advisor Mark Wray wrote back saying "access to the station is necessarily a compromise between the needs of different passenger groups".

Spokesman James Davis told the Oxford Mail that it was not a mistake.

He said: "The signs show customers the way that the cycle path continues, while asking them to pay due regard to other rail users and not to cycle on a short section, the over bridge."