AN ELECTRIC cable was the reason why it took half a day to remove an overturned lorry which brought Oxford to a standstill.

The lorry, which was on its way to the BMW Mini Plant at Cowley, fell on to its side near the Kennington roundabout on the Southern by-pass at 7am on Monday.

It was eventually removed at about 6pm, after a day which saw much of Oxford grind to a halt.

Drivers reported queuing for about two hours on journeys on the Southern Bypass, the A34 and other major routes around Oxford.

But police revealed last night that the vehicle had landed on an electric cable, prompting safety concerns.

Insp Colin Clark said: “Before any recovery of the truck — and the 60 crates of car parts it was carrying — could take place, the scene had to be made safe for those involved in the recovery.

“We contacted the power company to deal with the live cable, which caused local traffic lights to go out, and made sure recovery agents were informed and attending.

“We appreciate the frustration felt by many motorists and will be speaking with all those involved at the scene, and responsible for the diversion routes, to see what improvements could be made.”

Sid Saeed, 47, a driver for St Aldate’s-based 001 Taxis, said: “I got stuck for a long time on Botley Road and also on Abingdon Road, and I abandoned my shift early at 4pm because you could not go anywhere.

“One passenger wanted to go from Kennington to Thornhill Park-and-Ride to travel to Heathrow Airport but he had to cancel his flight — there were a lot of angry passengers.”

Scientist Danny Axford, 34, from Headington, cycled past the lorry on his way to work in Didcot.

He said: “Sometimes I drive to work, so I could have been caught up in it. It was chaos .”

Mr Clark said local and national highways authorities put in diversion routes to manage and deal with traffic.

He continued: “It was clear early on, due to the location of the incident at a busy and strategically important roundabout, that this was going to cause major disruption to anyone travelling in and around Oxford.

“The location, weather and time had a huge impact, and the volume of traffic wanting to use the roads very soon added to the congestion and delays encountered.

“The reason the incident continued throughout the day was the complicated recovery of the truck and its large load, and the need for the electricity company to deal with and repair the live cable and to restore the traffic lights.”

A spokesman for logistics firm Gillhuber, which owns the lorry, said the company “sincerely regretted the incident” and apologised for the widespread disruption.

Keith Slater, a director of the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership, estimated the delays could have cost the local economy at least £1.5m.