MOTORISTS faced gridlock misery around Oxford for the second day running yesterday after another spate of incidents combined to cause traffic chaos.

A three-vehicle crash on the A34 between the Pear Tree interchange and Kidlington and a roof fire at a thatched cottage next to the A420 in Besselsleigh led to road closures, long tailbacks and lengthy delays on some of Oxfordshire’s busiest roads during the evening rush-hour.

Traffic off the A34 trying to head north through the city centre and drivers heading west along the A420 jammed Oxford’s Botley Road again yesterday, and drivers in the north of the county faced congestion following an accident on the M40.

Jan Bartlett travelled from her home in Dry Sandford to her restaurant, Cafe Aloha, at the West Way shopping parade in Botley at about 6pm. She said: “It took me over an hour, I couldn’t believe it.

“My husband Dave said it took him more than one hour, 10 minutes, to drive from Dry Sandford to the David Lloyd gym in Cowley. Usually it takes 20 minutes at the most.

“It’s the same as May Morning. When something happens at Pear Tree, it impacts everywhere.

“There was mayhem down Botley Road, because people were coming in and out of the bus lanes.”

One of the people involved in the A34 crash, which happened at about 4pm, had a lucky escape.

Firefighters freed them from a car which was sandwiched between two lorries on the northbound carriageway.

Police closed the A34 between the Pear Tree interchange and the the B4027 turn for Islip at about 3.55pm.

Traffic was able to squeeze past in one lane and by 6.45pm all lanes were reopened.

Oxford Bus Company operations director Phil Southall said that as a result there were delays on the 2, 6, and 300 routes.

Stagecoach Oxfordshire tweeted last night: “Due to the heavy traffic coming in and out of Oxford some of our services are delayed.

“The A34 is closed. Knock-on effect everywhere.”

Meanwhile, more than 50 firefighters were battling a blaze next to the A420 in Besselsleigh last night.

One lane was also closed on the southbound carriageway of the M40, between Banbury and junction 10 at Ardley, because of a broken-down vehicle at about 4.30pm.

The vehicle was removed by a recovery crew and the lane was reopened by 6pm.

It was the second day in a row of “perfect storms” that led to traffic chaos for the county’s motorists.

As reported in yesterday’s Oxford Mail, a combination of emergency repairs, road closures, an accident and a broken-down vehicle caused problems on roads ringing Oxford.

The Botley Road delays came the day after emergency gas repair work at the junction with Ferry Hinksey Road was finished, which had caused two days of traffic chaos on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Motorist Kim Hudson, 23, said it took her an hour to travel from Bicester to her workplace at Andrews estate agents, in Elms Parade, Botley, double the time the journey would usually take and she was frustrated to hear there was gridlock again.

She said: “It makes our job more difficult, because it’s taking longer to get to our appointments and we’re wasting time stuck in traffic when doing work. It’s frustrating.”

Speaking about the A34 crash, Thames Valley Police Inspector Chris Evans said last night: “The officers are still dealing with the incident. The road is actually clear but they’re dealing with witnesses.”