Campaigners have started an online petition to try to abolish the tolls at historic Swinford Bridge.

West Oxfordshire district councillors David Rossiter and Brenda Smith want the 5p charge to cross the bridge near Eynsham, used by 10,000 vehicles a day, scrapped.

They are being supported by artist Jane Tomlinson, who has started the petition.

Mrs Tomlinson, 43, of Newland Close, Eynsham, who travels over the bridge by bus every day, said: "I have ranted about the daily misery caused by the wretched Swinford Toll Bridge enough, so I decided to set up a petition.

"I waste 95 minutes of my life every week sitting in traffic. The fumes are horrendous, on a hot day you can see them hanging in the air around the bridge.

"It's not paying the toll, which is minimal, it's the delays caused by the way they collect it."

She said there was a strong feeling of frustration in Eynsham about the bridge. So far 38 people have added their names to the petition.

The petition calls for Witney MP David Cameron to work with Oxfordshire County Council to repeal the Act of Parliament which allows the owners of the bridge to charge tolls, and for the council to use a compulsory purchase order to buy the bridge.

Mr Rossiter and Mrs Smith have called for the Department of Transport, the county council and Mr Cameron to start discussions with the bridge owners to come up with an alternative to the charge.

Mr Rossiter said: "Collecting tolls is an extremely old fashioned way of doing things. It might have been OK in the 18th century but not today.

"I have had a lot of people ask me when is something going to be done to take it into the 21st century.

"We are asking for our MP, the county council and the owner of the toll bridge to sit down together and find a way of making the situation better."

Mr Cameron said: "I am willing to campaign for the Act of Parliament needed to buy the bridge and scrap the toll. I have made this clear to the county council, but they don't feel that's the way forward.

"It's a difficult and complicated situation and I sympathise with people frustrated by the delays.

"I use the bridge myself and find it frustrating. It does seem frankly rather strange to have to queue up and pay 5p."

David Robertson, the county council's cabinet member for transport, said: "We've already been in discussions with David Cameron about this.

"Even if we did buy the bridge and scrap the toll, there would still be congestion and perhaps even more congestion because more traffic would be encouraged to use the bridge.

"There would have to be traffic lights or traffic calming anyway. We are trying to encourage more people to use public transport.

"It is a big problem but there's no simple solution."

Mr Rossiter added: "There's a general feeling we are relying on three really old bridges to take all the traffic across the River Thames."

The bridge is owned by the Smith family of Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire.

Roger Davies, of Gifford, consultant engineers to the Smith family, said: "The owners are not available for comment."