MAJOR safety work on a stretch of River Thames towpath in Oxford will begin this September, it has been announced.

The work to Fiddlers Island and Medley Island sections of towpath, near Port Meadow, is expected to cost around £500,000.

It is the same stretch where Wolvercote teenager Ben Halsey-Jones fell into the river and died in January.

The work has been made the top priority by both city and county councils - which are joint funding the project - in a bid to address the maintenance backlog along the river.

City councillor Jean Fooks, the portfolio member responsible for the issue, said: "The money is available, £500,000 in total should be enough to cover Fiddlers and Medley Islands.

"It should be enough to do a good job because it's been neglected for some time.

"Some of it has been done and the temporary work on Fiddlers Island looks splendid."

Oxfordshire County Council has finished temporary work to the Port Meadow sections - to make the path level and safe - that will allow them to remain open to the public over the summer months.

The permanent work will start in September and will include strengthening the banks and path resurfacing.

A major risk assessment of Oxford's Thames towpath was also completed last week, but its recommendations have not yet been made public.

Professional safety advisors Safe Site have been commissioned to examine the condition and suitability of the towpath, riverside fences and the number and coverage of life buoy stations.

Their brief also included looking at existing warning signs and procedures in response to flooding.

The report will also allow the councils to agree which of the authorities is responsible for what. Both the city and county are now examining the recommendations.

Mrs Fooks said permanent maintenance work to the stretch would start in September and was likely to take several months.

Ian Hudspeth, county council cabinet member for transport implementation, said: "This represents our commitment to upgrading the towpath to make it a safer and more pleasant environment for people."

Transport Manager Peter Brown added: "This is the second phase of a programme of ongoing work that both the city and county councils are committed to on the Thames Towpath.

"The first section between Donnington and Folly Bridge was completed in 2006."

Dependent on funding, the council is intending to carry out further work on the towpath in the Grandpont and Iffley Lock areas over the next couple of years.