VILLAGERS have thanked their councillor for backing their calls to repair a "dangerous" footbridge in Oxford.

Oxford City Council leader John Goddard has been praised for his action in helping to make the bridge safe.

But residents say he would not have needed to get involved if the Environment Agency had listened to their requests for work to the bridge - over a brook known to villagers as Swift Stream - to be carried out.

The footbridge, which is 200 yards downstream of Godstow Lock and part of the Thames towpath, had started to rot and there were fears it had become unsafe for walkers and other users.

The damage was made worse by this summer's flooding - with the bridge handrail breaking off at one end, leaving it to swing into the middle of the path.

Tom Ballance, who owns business premises in Binsey, Oxford, heard about the damage to the bridge from local farmer Charles Gee and contacted Mr Goddard.

Mr Ballance said: "Although the bridge is the responsibility of the Environment Agency, I decided to contact John as we weren't getting anywhere with them.

"We had spoken to them before the flooding about the condition the bridge was in and when the flood water receded, and we saw how it had been affected.

"It was dangerous. The handrail was pivoting at one end and could have swung out and knocked someone off the bridge. All the Environment Agency kept telling us was that they would send someone out to look at it - but there was no urgency."

"I spoke to John and he got straight on to it. He contacted the necessary people and there were safety barriers up within a day.

"It was a fantastic response and everyone was very pleased to see our concerns had been taken seriously."

Jenny Talbot, who lives in Wolvercote, uses the footbridge regularly while walking her dog.

She said: "The Environment Agency had been warned about that bridge for months, but hadn't done a thing. Yet as soon as Mr Goddard got involved they jumped into action."

Mr Goddard said it was important to respond quickly if there was a risk to public safety.

He added: "The bridge was in a very bad state."

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "We were made aware of this during the floods, but at that time our priority was to carry out flood defence work."