Bicester has secured north Oxfordshire's first residents' parking scheme - but it has received a mixed reaction from householders in neighbouring streets.

The scheme, which was introduced this week, includes Victoria Road, Priory Road, North Street, Kings End, Henley Gardens and Church Lane.

Householders are entitled to apply for up to two annual permits - the first at a cost of £50 and the second £25.

Leader of Bicester Town Council, Debbie Pickford, spearheaded the project at the request of residents - with 90 per cent reported to have supported the idea.

Carol Widdowson, 47, from Priory Road, said: "We have people parking here who work for the estate agents and the banks in the town. We also have people who go to London on the train.

"It is a conservation area and it needs to be kept nice. It is lovely that non-residents can't park here any more."

However, people living in areas like Lambourne Crescent, Linden Road, Bernwood Road, Witherington Road and Bardwell Terrace - where there is free parking - believe their roads will get more congested.

Emma Cottle, of Bernwood Road, said: "When I come home I can't park outside my house. I have lived here for eight years and I think the problem is going to get a lot worse."

Councillor George Reynolds, portfolio holder for community, recreation and health, said: "A number of residents had said they had been unable to park their cars in their streets.

"Car parking is a problem in many towns, and Bicester is the first scheme that Cherwell District Council has done.

"We are now looking at problems in other areas - particularly Banbury - because this problem is becoming widespread."

Bicester councillor, Les Sibley, objected to the scheme - warning of congestion and extra hazards, particularly when work begins on a number of developments in the town.

He said: "Bicester is going to become chock-a-block with traffic. Free parking spaces are being taken away from the town, and residents have to pay for the privilege to park. They are not even guaranteed a space."