DRIVERS on the A34 faced long delays yesterday after seven cars crashed and blocked the road.

Three separate accidents happened within yards of each other near East Ilsley, close to the Oxfordshire border, shortly after 8.30am.

Cars heading into the county queued for up to two hours when police shut one lane to help recovery teams.

Meanwhile, a 34-year-old man died following a car crash on the A4074 near Nuneham Courtenay on Wednesday evening.

Restrictions on the A34 were in place until about 1.30pm and knock-on congestion was also reported on the nearby A339.

The air ambulance landed at the scene, but police said nobody was seriously hurt.

One person was taken to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital as a precaution.

Steven Gough, 51, was driving home to Bicester after a night shift when he hit the traffic.

He said: “I heard a warning on the radio that there had been a major pile-up.

“I only arrived about 20 minutes after the accident, but I was so far back I couldn’t see what had happened.

“I sat there for about two hours. Nobody was going anywhere and you could see some people who obviously had appointments to get to were getting a bit irritated. I saw the air ambulance arrive and feared the worse, but it’s good to hear nobody was seriously injured.”

Mr Gough, who works in a warehouse, said he often encountered traffic problems on that stretch of the A34.

He said: “It is one of the busiest roads in the country and I’m often stuck in traffic – there doesn’t have to be an accident.

“It was obviously a big crash so the most important thing is that nobody was hurt. It could have been a lot worse.”

At Nuneham Courtenay, a man from nearby Toot Baldon died when his blue Rover MGF collided with a Vauxhall Corsa heading in the opposite direction.

The 34-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene, near the turning for Lower Farm Lane.

The driver of the Corsa was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital with serious leg injuries.

Crews from three fire stations used hydraulic equipment to free the drivers.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the crash, which happened shortly after 7.30pm.

Anyone with information should call 08458 505505.