Alaric Smith was re-elected for the Liberal Democrats in today’s West Oxfordshire District Council elections.

For the past four years, he has represented the Lib Dems in the Bampton and Clanfield ward.

READ MORE: Liberal Democrat-led alliance expected to continue

He polled 706 votes to win the seat, defeating Conservative Ted Fenton, who got 622 votes.

Mr Smith said: “The state of the county’s roads is a big issue for voters – the county is in charge of that and is addressing the problem.

“It’s a difficult problem to manage after so many years of decline.”

Mr Smith added that residents living in Bampton and Clanfield were also concerned about new houses being built in the area.

He added: “We’re looking at about 150 new homes being built for Bampton in the coming years, under the Local Plan running up until 2043 – that’s perhaps not quite as many as it might have been.

“We want to make sure that infrastructure is in place as it goes along, before new developments are completed.”

Julian Cooper who is standing down as a councillor (Image: Andy Ffrench)

It was the end an era for one Liberal Democrat in West Oxfordshire – Julian Cooper is standing down after about 40 years of serving people in Woodstock and Bladon.

“You serve the people that put you there,” he said.

“My father Leslie was a founding member of West Oxfordshire District Council.”

Hannah Massie held the Woodstock and Bladon ward for the Lib Dems.

She polled 772 votes, beating Conservative candidate Eric Sukumaran who got 463 votes.

Claire’s closed all three of its Oxfordshire stores at the end of last month, with all 154 UK and Ireland stores shutting.

Administrators for the fashion accessories chain said that around 1,300 workers will be made redundant as a result.

The move does not affect the retailer’s 356 concessions, including many in Asda stores, and its head office.

READ MORE: Hundreds queue outside Westgate Oxford for new Lego store opening

The empty Claire’s store at Westgate Oxford. (Image: Newsquest)

It comes after private equity owner Modella Capital hired Kroll to oversee the administration earlier this year.

A spokesman for Kroll said: “As of April 27, all Claire’s standalone stores in the UK and Ireland have ceased trading.

“All store employees have been advised of redundancy.

“We understand an interested party is in discussion with a number of landlords with a view to taking new leases for some of the sites.”

READ MORE: Look inside new Lego store opening at Westgate Oxford today

Claire’s closed at the end of April. (Image: Newsquest)

Three of the casualties came in Oxfordshire, with the Didcot and Witney branches closing alongside the Oxford Westgate store.

Last year, two stores in Banbury, at the Castle Quay Shopping Centre and Banbury Gateway Shopping Park, also permanently shut.

The Claire’s store at the city’s shopping centre now stands completely empty with only the main purple and white signage remaining.

Having previously had yellow sale signs up for weeks, there is now nothing in the windows as the unit stands barren following the sudden closure.

The high street chain was put into administration back in January 2026 alongside The Original Factory Shop (TOFS).

Previously, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said two British nationals have confirmed hantavirus but there is now “an additional suspected case of a British national on Tristan da Cunha”.

The other two British nationals remain in hospital in the Netherlands and South Africa.

A total of 29 people left the cruise ship MV Hondius, including seven Britons, when it docked in St Helena on April 24, including a Dutch woman who became unwell during onward travel and died.

Three people in total have died linked to an outbreak of hantavirus on the cruise ship.

The UKHSA said none of the British citizens on board the ship, which is now travelling to Tenerife, is currently reporting symptoms but they are being closely monitored.

The UKHSA added: “UK Government staff will be on the ground ready to support the British nationals disembarking.

“British passengers and ship crew not displaying any symptoms of hantavirus will be escorted by UK Government staff to an airport and given free passage back to the UK.”

All British passengers and crew from the ship are being asked to isolate for 45 days upon returning to the UK, with close monitoring by UKHSA officials.

It has already emerged that two Britons are currently self-isolating at home in the UK after they left the ship.

The two flew back to the UK via Johannesburg after disembarking in St Helena.

Four Britons in total remain on the South Atlantic remote islands. A seventh individual has been traced outside the UK.

Some 19 British nationals in total were listed as passengers on the MV Hondius, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde, with four British crew members.

A 69-year-old British man who was taken off the ship with symptoms is currently receiving intensive care treatment at a private health facility in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Another Briton, Martin Anstee, 56, was taken off the ship on Wednesday and flown to the Netherlands to receive specialist medical care.

Professor Andrew Pollard of the University of Oxford (Image: University of Oxford)

Sir Andrew, director of the Oxford vaccine group, said: “The Andes virus, which has been identified as the variant behind the outbreak, is known very rarely to spread between people with close contact.

“It means it is very easy to isolate people who are unwell and to follow quarantine and so on to avoid spread to other people.”

Asked about the two British passengers who have returned to the UK, Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UKHSA, said on Thursday that contact tracing is happening for anyone who may have sat next to them on the flight home.

The outbreak has been connected to a birdwatching expedition in Argentina which two of the passengers went on before boarding the ship.