GOSFORD residents claim heavy lorries are using their village as a rat-run and tearing up tarmac.

Community leaders say Bicester Road has been warped and cracked by lorries using it as a shortcut to and from the A34.

They blame lorries from the MINI Plant in Cowley for the problem and have called on Oxfordshire County Council to fix the road and put a weight restriction on it.

The MINI Plant said it expected all its suppliers to drive legally and County Hall said the road only had minor defects, which it was fixing.

Gosford Parish Council clerk Carl Smith said residents had predicted the issue before the section of the A34 was built, in 1990. He said the community fought against the creation of the two-way junction on the A34 north of Gosford for this reason.

He said: “We are getting lorries from the Cowley works thundering up through our village, causing noise, pollution and all the rest of it.

“The council does patches but the whole road needs reconstructing. The road is dangerous in our opinion and the parish council is disappointed we are not getting anywhere with this.”

County council spokesman Owen Morton said: “Our officers visited the road on Wednesday and there are some minor defects which are awaiting repair, but no serious damage.”

MINI Plant spokesman Rebecca Baxter said: “We have not been made aware of any issue in this area. We expect all of our suppliers to drive responsibly and legally when travelling to and from Plant Oxford.”