A main road into the city centre which has been closed since Friday has reopened.

Fire crews from Banbury and Oxford joined forces and have worked round the clock, pumping water out of Abingdon Road after prolonged heavy rainfall led to flooding.

Oxfordshire County Council said it has now reopened, however, it will stay closed from Old Abingdon Road to Weirs Lane where fire crews will continue to pump water away.

Diversions are in place.

The bus gate on Oxford High Street, which was temporarily opened, is now back in use.

The county council removed the traffic restriction and opened the High Street to all traffic 24 hours a day to offset the effects of the closure combined with the continued closure of Botley Road.

Earlier county councillor Nathan Ley shared a video of Abingdon Road and said the situation had improved.

The road had been likened to a river near the Weirs Lane junction following intense heavy rainfall. 

Despite the possible impact on traders, the county council took the decision to close the road but said it was not "done lightly and always with safety in mind".

Councillor Anna Railton, who represents the Hinksey Park ward, said "the situation has, on the whole, been pretty well managed" though she pointed to "a few bumpy bits" such as one of the bus operators "not fully grasping the closure" and needing to do a three-point-turn at the closure.

Ms Railton said Tesco had done "an admirable job staying open despite being "welly-only access for multiple days".

Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds thanked the council and other organisations for their efforts but said the closure  had had a "massive impact on both local residents and businesses".

She said: "While the impact has not been as severe as in 2007, it has been frustrating to see how stretched many services have been during this period.

"It’s critical that a regular Flooding Resilience Taskforce is established, which can better coordinate local services and also ensure that money allocated for flood defences gets where it is needed as speedily and effectively as possible."