Faulty resurfacing work has left an Oxford street a deathtrap, according to residents.

Michael Burrage

People living in Horspath Road, off Hollow Way, Cowley, say mounds of loose chippings left behind by workmen have made it impossible for cars to brake without skidding.

Oxfordshire County Council has admitted the work has not been successful, but says contractors are unable to rectify the problem until the spring.

"The work has left a complete mess at rate payers' expense, it is a death trap," said Michael Burrage, 64, who lives nearby in Hunter Close.

"The amount we pay in council tax, to find ourselves travelling down roads like this is appalling, you can't brake on that surface at all. I have problems with it every day."

Joan Oliver, secretary of the Horspath Area Residents and Tenants Association, said: "There was so much of it when they first did it and the buses coming down here all the time were pushing it to one side, making it difficult for the rest of the traffic.

"My son said it was just taking the wheels of his car.

"They have been and swept it and it's nowhere near as bad as it was, but so many cars are parked down here, sweepers can't get to some parts of the road."

Colin Carritt, area engineer for the county council's highways department, said: "This work was part of a city-wide resurfacing scheme which, generally speaking, has been successful.

"We have had one or two sites, including Horspath Road, which were done late in the year, and haven't been successful. The contractors are going to come back and put it right, but it can't be done during the winter."

He said that the contractors had agreed to pay for the road to be swept regularly in the meantime.