WARNING signs have gone up along the River Thames towpath in Oxford after bad weather caused the river to overflow on to footpaths.

Oxford City Council, which is in charge of most of the towpath, put up signs warning it could be flooded in bad weather and advising pedestrians and cyclists to use alternative routes, shortly before 5pm yesterday.

One of the stretches where warning signs were put up was just south of Osney Lock near a path to the Osney Mead industrial estate.

A few hundred metres down the path, a long stretch of towpath was under water and cyclists were struggling to get through. Joggers and walkers were turning back and walking through the industrial estate to rejoin the path later on.

Flooded towpaths led to tragedy earlier this year.

Ben Halsey-Jones, 15, fell into the river and died while cycling along a flooded path in Port Meadow on Sunday, January 21.

Yesterday there are concerns over why the council had not closed the footpath near Osney.

John Rhodes-Byneo, who lives in Gibbs Crescent which overlooks the section of flooded towpath, said: "The river is so swollen there is no footpath there.

"I'm just wondering why it hasn't been closed off because it's pretty dangerous. Old people, young people, people on pushbikes and people with children have been trying to get through and they are having to turn back.

"It's just amazing nobody has been swept away yet. Lots of people have turned back and I think they're the fortunate ones. The ones who have gone through are risking their lives.

"A lot of people use the footpath as a short cut as well as an exercise route but it is worrying because the river is very fast-flowing."

Karen Doggett, 25, a student who lives in Oxford, had been jogging along the river, but was forced to turn back when she reached the floods.

She said: "I don't think there's any way through. I don't fancy going through something like that.

"On Tuesday, it was fine so I assumed it would be OK. We normally jog through Port Meadow, but that's flooded, so we decided to go this way. We've come to accept it everywhere."

Karen Wolff, who was cycling along the towpath on her way back from a conference in Iffley, managed to get through on her cycle without incident.

She said: "It was easier yesterday morning and I think the river must have risen and the water must have come down but, fortunately, I didn't get my feet too wet."