Residents have won a battle to stop lorries using their village as a rat-run -- but it may only be temporary.

People living in Weston-on-the-Green are fed up with HGVs using their village as a short-cut from the A34 to the A43 -- to avoid the congested junction 9 of the M40, at Wendlebury -- so they launched a campaign to get a weight restriction imposed in the village.

The campaigners, called the B430 Action Group, have won a partial victory.

Oxfordshire County Council has agreed to impose a two-way weight limit on the B430 while roadworks take place to resurface the A34 and to improve the motorway junction.

Ralph Grant, the council's area engineer, said in an e-mail to the action group that the council was "preparing a temporary northbound weight restriction, which will come into force during the A34 roadworks".

However, Mr Grant added that the northbound weight restriction could not be made permanent.

"When the A34 works are on, we believe that it is going to encourage even more commercial vehicles to use this route," he said.

"In the interim we will impose a temporary weight restriction, and during the period of the A34 works police can put enforcement works in place."

Resurfacing of the A34 is due to start in August and is expected to take about five months.

In spring next year, the Highways Agency is planning to start work to redesign junction 9 of the M40 and its A34 and A41 slip roads.

The proposals involve adding extra lanes to the slip roads to make them about 250m long.

traffic lights will also be installed at the junction for northbound traffic on the A34.

In 2003 the campaigners won a weight restriction for southbound traffic, which is due to be implemented soon.

The chairman of the B430 Action Group, John Mair, said: "We're delighted that sense has prevailed and both the county and the Highways Agency now accept the case for a two-way ban on the B430.

"It's long overdue. We will now work ceaselessly to make the temporary ban a permanent one.

"Now it's up to Weston Parish Council and the relevant traffic authorities to provide relief for the entire village of Weston from uninvited through traffic."