CAMPAIGNERS seeking a 20mph zone on an Oxford estate are angry that a quieter area of the city has already been given one.

Wood Farm residents have been calling for a 20mph limit for three years but were surprised to see the area around Wytham Street, in south Oxford, was given a reduced speed limit at the start of the month.

Peter Bonney, chairman of Churchill Community Tenants' and Residents' Association, said many people wanted the speed limit cut in Wood Farm Road, Atkyns Road, Nuffield Road, Masons Road and Titup Hall Drive.

Mr Bonney, of Nuffield Road , said: "We have been telling the council we want the 20mph limit and traffic lights where The Slade meets Wood Farm Road.

"I won't say anything against the area around Wytham Street, and it's great for any place to get a 20mph limit, but they don't have the buses we have.

"We get one every five minutes, plus one in between that, the Brookes Bus and all the student coaches.

"They go on seven days and seven nights and run until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays."

Mr Bonney said the traffic went past the new adventure playground, which was not fenced off.

He said: "We also have learner drivers and motorcyclists down here all the time.

"You get hundreds of learners a day. It's always been somewhere they practice reversing and brake tests.

"People on Nuffield Road don't park on the road, because there are lots of manoeuvres going on. That gives people ample space, so they think they can speed.

"For an estate, it's terrible. When we speak to the council they always tell us there's a survey going on.

"They have promised the 20mph limit in the past but nothing has happened. It's heartbreaking.

"You prevent crime, so you should prevent accidents, not wait for someone to get hurt or killed."

Ian Hudspeth, Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for transport, said: "We're very willing to listen to the case for a 20mph speed limit at Wood Farm.

"We consider each case on its merits, as it is presented to us. I would warmly welcome hearing what the people of Wood Farm have to say."

Mr Hudspeth said there was no finalised list of where and when 20mph zones would be implemented, but insisted the situation would change soon.

He added: "There will be a clear way forward and I very much look forward to publicising that."

County council spokesman Paul Smith said: "The only reason the 20mph zone was introduced so quickly in the Wytham Street area was because in that particular part of Oxford, developer funding existed, over and above normal council funds, to pay for such work."