IT MAY not be up there with car chase movie classic Bullitt but this smash from TV detective drama Lewis stopped crowds in Oxford on Saturday.

Stars Laurence Fox and Kevin Whately were in Broad Street, outside Blackwell’s art and poster shop, filming a car crash scene for the new series.

The scene involves a Land Rover crashing into the back of the policemen’s Toyota after Fox’s character Det Sgt James Hathaway brakes suddenly when a woman walks into the road in front of him.

A stuntman replaced Mr Fox at the wheel for the collision and a dummy stood in for Mr Whately’s character Det Insp Robbie Lewis in the passenger seat.

It means Fox will have to wear a neckbrace for the episode, Down Among the Fearful , which will be broadcast next Spring.

Mr Whately, said: “We have had a weird week with the weather but I’m having a great time.

“In this scene I’m being replaced by my stunt double, who is a very handsome dummy.”

Director Brian Kelly, who plainly didn’t want to give much away about the episode’s plot, said: “It’s about a murder in Oxford.

“It involves the death of a psychic and the overall theme is faith versus reason.

“I love being here. We’re having a great time.

“Because it’s so busy, we had to be here really early to get a bit more control over the filming.

“But people are great and they’re very excited to see us.

“They’re very considerate and don’t seem to mind being diverted.”

In 2010 tourism is estimated to have put more than £740m into Oxford’s economy, and Visit Oxfordshire’s Susi Golding said people attracted by seeing the county in films and on TV accounted for a “significant” proportion of visitors.

Oxford author Colin Dexter , who created the Inspector Morse stories which first featured Lewis as a sergeant, hinted earlier this year that the spin-off Lewis series may not last much longer but viewing figures remain strong, with a 26 per cent share of the TV audience.

The episode featuring the stunt will be the seventh series of Lewis, which started in 2006, meaning there will have been as many series as there were of Inspector Morse .