Remedial work is being out at the Kassam Stadium following the crowd safety scare at Oxford United's Division 3 game against Kidderminster.

Structural engineers from stadium builders Birse carried out an inspection of the roof of the South Stand on Thursday.

It followed last Saturday's game when a small metal rod on the underside of the roof became loose and was flapping in strong winds, forcing the evacuation of nearly 400 spectators to other parts of the ground.

Stadium manager Tony Ashley said: "Engineers examined all the stands and there were sheared rivets in five secondary steel purling stays.

"Remedial work will start on Friday to refix the angles back, and additional screws will be added to the stays in the other stands.

"The metal rods may have been sheared for some time, but it only became noticeable with this one when it started flapping in the wind."

Ashley, United's safety officer, has also spoken to John Kelly, chairman of Oxfordshire's Safety Advisory Group, but a further inspection by them is not felt necessary.

A spokesman for Birse said extra screws will be inserted into the metal rods in all three stands at the Kassam Stadium as a safety measure.

Ashley said: "This shows that spectator safety here is paramount and we'd like to assure fans that we regard their safety as the main priority."

Firoz Kassam said: "I would like to assure people that watching football at the stadium is a safe experience."