A community has called for the removal of an experimental £60,000 anti-erosion barrier which they claim has left the Thames towpath dangerously narrow.

Residents in Abbey Road have made their own repairs of the river bank, which has crumbled away by a metre in places since a controversial willow spiling defence system was put in place nine years ago.

Fears have been voiced homes in Abbey Road - backing on to the towpath - may be flooded if the bank is not repaired, or someone could slip and fall into the waterway. In January 2007, 15-year-old Ben Halsey-Jones died after falling off his bike into the river at nearby Rainbow Bridge.

The River Thames washed over the towpath for the first time in more than 40 years last July, leaving flood water just two inches below residents doors.

Geoff Palfreeman, 63, of Abbey Road said: "It's not working and the bank is collapsing. We have lost at least a metre of the towpath since 1999. It's incredibly narrow now.

"We'll be stepping out into the river if they don't fix this soon. It has taken man centuries to get to the point where we use steel and concrete for building.

"Why on earth have we gone back to willow sticks?

"It seems that someone has to lose their life to get someone to maintain the river bank properly."

Derek Barnes, of Abbey Road, said: "This was a complete cock-up from the beginning.

"The path is so narrow if anyone tipped off their bike now they'd end up straight in the river."

Residents have accused authorities of wasting public money after Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council, and the Environment Agency (EA) each spent £15,000 to install willow spiling along the 300m stretch north of Osney Bridge.

The spiling - which involves willow stakes being woven into the bank to form a barrier - was used instead of traditional metal spiling which would have cost £300,000.

In 2003 the city council agreed to spend another £10,000 on repair work after residents complained. Mr Palfreeman, who used his own sandbags to rebuild the bank after last July's floods, said: "It's been a total waste of money, but it's taken almost 10 years to realise they've made a mistake."

Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council said in a statement: "We want to look at a section at the end of the Abbey Road later this year and want to do work to repair other sections in this area as soon as we can."

"The county council has shown its commitment to towpath repairs.

"The Folly Bridge to Donnington Bridge section was repaired in 2006 at a cost of £300,000."

The EA declined to comment.