The latest phase of a £1m scheme to repair the Thames Towpath in Oxford has been completed.

The sections of towpath in the Fiddler's Island area of Oxford have been repaired at a cost of £400,000.

And Oxfordshire County Council has set out its plans to spend a further £440,000 on three more repair schemes in coming months.

Attention has been focused on the state of the towpath following the death of Wolvercote teenager Ben Halsey-Jones, who fell into the flooded river while cycling at Port Meadow last year.

Earlier this year the footpath and riverbank were restored in the Rainbow Bridge and Medley Boatyard area as part of the county council's work to improve the Thames Towpath in the city.

The new upgrade work will see:

  • Repairs to the riverbank and towpath next to Abbey Road, off the Botley Road, at a cost of £100,000. Work has already started and is due to be complete by the end of October
  • Upgrades to the towpath by Gasworks bridge, north of Grandpont. Work will begin in October and is scheduled to be complete in early 2009 at a cost of £190,000
  • Upgrades to the towpath south of Donnington Bridge. Work will begin in October and is scheduled to be completed in early 2009 at a cost of £150,000.