WORK to create Oxford's 'hamburger' roundabout took a £220,000 bite out of business at a nearby fast-food restataurant.

Now McDonald's is fighting back after enduring months of misery, by giving the Headington branch a £200,000 facelift.

Last year, highways engineers rebuilt the Green Road roundabout on the A40 in a £2.6m scheme to cut queues at the notorious junction.

Traffic lights were placed on the roundabout and a new westbound lane for the A40 was cut through the middle, giving rise to the hamburger nickname.

But the seven-and-a-half months of misery for drivers during the work also caused problems for local businesses, including McDonald's, where trade fell by 25 per cent.

The restaurant lost about £220,000 in sales and now, in a bid to win back customers who went to eat elsewhere during the roadworks, McDonald's is modernising the dining area.

Manager Carl Room said: "There has been a rumour going round that this restaurant is closing, but that's not true - in fact the opposite is the case.

"The work on the roundabout had a massive effect on us last year and we want to win back trade and remind drivers that we're here, and that we're spending £200,000 on a brand new dining area.

"Customers are actually coming in and saying 'when are you closing?' because they have heard a rumour that Wetherspoons are going to take the building over and turn it back into a pub.

"Now we want to put customers straight and tell them that we are here to stay.

"We would like to put up more signs on the approaches to the roundabout to tell drivers we are here, but we are still working on the details with the councils."

Mr Room said he hoped work on the revamp would begin early next year and be completed in May.

He added: "Last year, customers were avoiding the area, because of the long delays. If they were sitting in traffic they didn't want to stop, because they would lose their place in the queue."

Two access points to McDonald's off the A40 were closed by the new roundabout layout and it is now accessible only from the Risinghurst turn and from Kiln Lane.

County council leaders say the new layout has been a "resounding success" at cutting jams.

Traffic monitoring since the redesigned roundabout opened last December found that queues on the Eastern Bypass, which previously stretched 500 metres for almost two hours of the morning rush hour, were reduced to 110 metres, lasting for less than half an hour.

There were previously queues for two hours in the morning for traffic arriving from the Wheatley direction on the A40, peaking at 1,400 vehicles.

There is now a queue for just over an hour, containing 300 vehicles at most.

Insurers are covering the £300,000 cost of refurbishing the McDonald's restaurant in Botley, which was damaged by flooding in July. It is due to reopen on Saturday, December 1.