Business leaders in Oxfordshire say they are disappointed that transport has been such a low-profile issue during the run-up to the general election.

The county's Chamber of Commerce and Industry says transport is a major issue for local companies and should be debated fully by election candidates.

The chamber has long campaigned for traffic and transport improvements across the Thames Valley.

Its policy executive, Mark Flavelle, said: "There is no doubt that the economy, health and Europe are key issues and we understand why they have taken up the majority of campaigning time.

"But across our region, there is congestion on the roads, and the threat of gridlock in some of our towns.

"There should be massive extra funding to finance improvements in public transport and the debate over parking charges and motoring taxes are vital for business.

"There is concern that failure to tackle these issues could be very damaging for the economic prosperity of our region and we need to know where the election candidates stand on them."