Council tenants in Oxford are being reassured that there are no plans to end the right to buy their homes.

Statements by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott have suggested that loopholes in the regulations should be tightened, but this has been interpreted by some tenants that the right to buy their homes will soon end.

In some parts of Britain, the number of applications has tripled, and there has been a surge of interest among the 9,000 council households in Oxford.

There were 53 applications in September, compared to 10 in September last year.

From February to August this year, there were 248 applications, compared to 171 between September last year and January this year.

Val Smith, executive member for housing, said: "There has been a definite surge in interest from tenants about the right to buy their homes.

"This may well have been prompted by statements from John Prescott, but people have misinterpreted what he said.

"Mr Prescott talked about tightening loopholes to ensure that family homes were not quickly sold on for use as multi-occupation homes, which has happened on a number of occasions in Rose Hill."

The Vale of White Horse District Council transferred 4,800 council homes to the Vale Housing Association in 1995.

Emily Griffiths, the council's communications manager, said there had been a decrease in interest in the right to buy in recent years, by former Vale council tenants who still retain that right.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said the Government had never threatened to end the right to buy, only to clamp down on abuses such as tenants buying their home to rent it out.