Highways chiefs have not replaced a road sign four months after it disappeared - and a pensioner fears a serious accident will result.

The sign on the Rose Hill bound carriageway of Oxford's Eastern Bypass, about 200 metres from Sandy Lane West, signalled the turn-off to Peers School and Nuffield Industrial Estate.

Ernest Burnip, 72, of Spring Lane, Littlemore, says he first noticed the sign was missing after he was travelling behind a car along the Eastern Bypass on November 27 last year.

He said the missing sign meant the driver in the car in front of him was given no warning of the turning and braked suddenly to turn off at the junction.

Mr Burnip had to take emergency action and ended up mounting the grass verge to avoid hitting the car.

He said: "I just don't want to be around when someone gets killed.

"If you are a driver following a big van and you don't see the sign until the last minute you put your brakes on and there's a good chance someone will go into the back of you."

Mr Burnip said he reported the matter to Oxfordshire County Council and was told it would be looked into.

A month later he contacted the highways department again to find out what had happened and said he was told that "these things take time".

He made another inquiry on January 18 and said he was assured that the wheels were in motion, but that nothing had been done yet.

Mr Burnip, who contacted the Oxford Mail after one final attempt to get information from the council, said on February 15 as he was walking beside the bypass he heard the screech of brakes as a driver took action to avoid crashing into another car, which had spotted the junction late.

Despite inquiring several times into what progress is being made, no replacement sign has appeared.

The county council's area traffic engineer, Peter Ronald, said yesterday: "The sign in question has been ordered and will be in place soon."