North and West Oxfordshire politicians penned the letter to transport minister Heidi Alexander, who incidentally was a victim of one of Oxfordshire’s potholes last month.

The detailed proposals ask for a £20bn investment in repairs and reinstatement of roads across the country, and particularly in Oxfordshire.

The councillors have made the case that the recently announced additional funding for tackling potholes is not enough overall and the share that Oxfordshire will receive will not be sufficient.

Councillors have also invited Ms Alexander to visit Oxfordshire to see for herself the state of Oxfordshire’s roads, not just on the B4437 outside Burford which punctured a tyre of her Mini.

Councillor Ian Middleton (Image: Ian Middleton)

Green group county and Cherwell district leader Ian Middleton said: “After years of neglect and underfunding by successive governments, we now need definitive action and proper funding to deal with the state of our roads and footpaths.

“Government financial input to the County budget for road maintenance is simply not at a level that is sustainable in the long term, and the result is a continued deterioration year on year.

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“We are now literally patching the patches, and after another winter of bad weather coupled with an increase in heavier vehicles, our roads are now in a state of total collapse that local authorities are not equipped or funded to deal with.

“We need a financial commitment from central government to facilitate an urgent roads reset.”

Rosie Pearson of the West Oxfordshire Greens (Image: Rosie Pearson)

West Oxfordshire District Council Green group leader Rosie Pearson added: “Many of us have suffered from damage and frustration from the state of our roads, especially after January’s severe weather.

“Nobody thinks this is acceptable. The Green Party approach is to look at the underlying causes of a problem, in order to find a permanent fix.”

North and West Oxfordshire Green Party co-chair Liz Reason said the cause of potholes needs to be tackled in a “systemic” way.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander (Image: Yui Mok/PA)

And North and West Oxfordshire Green Party co-chair Barry Wheatley added: “Years of patch-and-pray repairs have left our roads crumbling – damaging vehicles and putting pedestrians, cyclists and drivers at risk.

“It’s time for government and Oxfordshire to stop papering over the cracks and invest in roads built to last.”

Oxfordshire County Council has started repairs of 87 roads as part of its £8m improvement programme.

The now former transport chief Andrew Gant said in March: “Reactive pothole repairs are expensive and inefficient.

“Preventative maintenance, such as surface dressing, is far better value and stops potholes forming in the first place.”

Roman Gerashchenko from Oxford said that his friend was travelling from Abingdon to the airport at around 3am this morning (Thursday, May 22) when the animal was spotted. 

His pal was on the A4130 and passing through Henley when he encountered a strange sight.

What appeared to be a kangaroo could be seen, hopping along the road alongside the car.

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This is the shocking moment that a ‘kangaroo’ was spotted hopping along a road in Henley, Oxfordshire, at around 3am this morning. Video sent in to @TheOxfordMail by Roman Gerashchenko. 😳 🦘 pic.twitter.com/zQnSrMJ79C

— Edward Burnett (@edwardburnettt) May 22, 2025

“Mr friend saw the creature first at the entrance to Henley and was in shock.

“His second thought was that if it was a kangaroo, he would not swim in the Thames here because he might meet a crocodile.”

Footage was recorded of the incident which shows the animal freely hopping around on the road in the early hours.

Roman remains unsure as to whether the animal was a kangaroo, wallaby or something else but was shocked nonetheless by the footage.

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The ‘kangaroo’ hopping along the road in Henley. (Image: Roman Gerashchenko)

This is not the first time that a wild animal has been spotted in a town or city in the county in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, the public was warned after a large “python” snake was spotted at a beauty spot in Oxford.

A dog walker, who asked not to be identified, saw the snake while walking his pet at Port Meadow at 12.45pm on Tuesday, April 29.

Photographs sent to this newspaper showed a man in the main bathing area with what appeared to be a large python wrapped around his torso.

After concerns were expressed by the public, Oxford City Council warned the public to contact Thames Valley Police if the snake is spotted out in public again.

Robbo Leigh, of the Motoring Action for Oxford group, has said cyclists in the city need to be made aware of their obligations to keep roads safe.

This comes after he was travelling over the A40 near Barton Park where the major highway and Barton Fields Road intersects.

At the major junction, on Friday, May 8, his dashcam recorded a cyclist, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, travelling across his path when the pedestrian crossing lights were red.

“It is still an issue with many cyclists not knowing that red means stop and wait,” he said.

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The incident has prompted plenty of reaction among our readers.

On cyclists needing further education, one anonymous motorist said: “All cyclists should have to wear a helmet, pass a proficiency test, and have insurance, in order to use the roads. If safety is the prerogative then why isn’t this a law?”

Driver Rosanna Bastable said: “They should bring back the requirement to have to be trained before being allowed to cycle.

“I saw children in my city centre about two to three weeks back doing cycling on one wheel alongside a double decker bus and then doing it straight into the front of the bus. I was glad that the bus driver was able not to hit them.

“The first thing I did was report it to some police I found and their response was like they had given up trying to stop children behaving that way.

“They wish to have cycling tests brought back as a requirement.”

Others argued for more comprehensive testing with one reader Samuel Colassi saying “if you use the road, you need a licence for it and an insurance which cyclists shouldn’t be exempt from”.

A bike is filmed at the A40 Barton Fields junction on Friday, May 8 (Image: Robbo Leigh)

However, some motorists argued council decisions have made cycling in Oxford difficult.

One driver. who asked not to be named, said: “If this was in the Netherlands, the obvious conflict would have been addressed decades ago.

“You need to have a cycle path at this spot, with priority over the road, so that drivers have to give way to cyclists, rather than the other way around.

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“As we see from cities that provide comprehensive cycle infrastructure, we quickly see bikes outnumbering cars, so the priority has to be bikes, even though drivers often think that they should have priority themselves.”

Another comment from reader Salvia Wo said: “It is way easier to create the conflict instead of building roads that are safe for cars and cyclists.”

This came after a number of incidents over the past few years including the attendance of ambulances in December 2025 and June 2024, car crashes in July 2024 and August 2023, as well as events that saw public infrastructure damaged, including in July 2024.

Councillor Glynis Phillips has also campaigned on the issue.