AN OXFORD park has been closed for more than a week in the interest of public safety after a leak from a sewage pipe.

Early buds of spring in Headington Hill Park were left submerged in sewage, with a pipe running from the nearby Oxford Brookes University Headington Hill campus being blamed.

A section of the park was initially fenced off by council officers before the risk to the public and animals was judged too great and the decision was taken to lock the park gates last Wednesday.

The Town Hall said it hoped the park would be open again today.

Freelance journalist Peter McIntyre, of East Oxford, who regularly walks his dog in Headington Hill Park, said: “It is not good enough just to lock the park and walk away. We need quick action to get it open again and to ensure it is safe for people to use.”

Julia Hamilton, a freelance writer, of London Place, said: “People found themselves having to walk through sewage. It was not pleasant.£ Oxford Brookes University’s deputy director (property services), Steve Simpkins, said: “Contractors have been hired to unblock a sewage pipe in a poor state of repair running from the Headington Hill site and across Headington Hill Park.”