2005

* More than 500 unwanted cars and motorcycles have been collected free of charge by councils in Oxfordshire, in a two-week amnesty to prevent illegal dumping.

* City councillor Susanna Pressel has billed County Hall for two stolen bicycles, claiming they were taken because there are too few cycle parking places in Oxford.

1995

* Hundreds of teachers’ jobs could be at risk after councillors voted to cut Oxfordshire’s education budget by £10.2m to escape being capped by the Government.

* Staff at Radio Oxford have formed an action group to fight plans to merge it with Radio Berkshire, with the slogan ‘Keep Radio Oxford in Oxfordshire’.

1985

* Chief Supt John Goodenough, of Thames Valley Police, hit out at pub landlords for failing to clamp down on under-age and after-hours drinking.

* Women undergraduates at Christ Church, Oxford, have appointed an adviser – geography don Judy Pallot – to help keep their rowdy male colleagues in order.

1975

* Bus fares in Oxford will rise by 24.6 per cent, and there was also bad news for city council tenants, whose rents are going up by 12 per cent.

* Annette Benning, 14, and Alison Narraway, 13, spent all night in a tree at Marcham, braving fog and freezing temperatures – all for a bet which earned them £3.41.

1965

* Traders in Oxford city centre are voting on whether to abolish early closing days on Thursdays – and supporters of the move are edging ahead.

* Villagers in Wolvercote are being urged to become vigilantes to stop night-time rubbish dumpers spoiling Goose Green, a well-known beauty spot.

1955

* A family were taken to the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, after being found unconscious in their caravan at Sandford-on-Thames – it is thought they were overcome by gas fumes.

* Hopes are rising that a centre for spastics will be established in Oxford – a hut might be available at the Churchill Hospital.