A campaign to stop Wallingford's picturesque town centre Market Place ending up as a car park is being waged by the town council.

It wants more bollards around the edge, along with more bench seats and flower baskets on poles to show it is a pleasant traffic-free area for the public and not somewhere for lorries and cars.

Town clerk Andrew Rogers said: "The Market Place is a nice place to be and we want the public to enjoy it. We do not want people to feel it is a closed-off area. But what we desperately want is to be rid of heavy lorries, vans and cars using it as a parking area.

"At one point we even had a 14-tonner parked on it and that is just ridiculous. Some of the York stone flagstones have already been damaged."

He said town council parks staff had put forward ideas for flower beds and flower baskets on poles to brighten it up.

He told the town council that South Oxfordshire District Council conservation staff had visited the site and realised the problem. Now talks are going on about the best possible solution.

The Market Place is ringed by listed buildings, including the town hall and Corn Exchange, and has a picturesque 150-year-old former drinking fountain as a centrepiece.

Town council member Amanda Griffin said that any new bollards would have to be removable so that market traders could get their vans off the road.

The town council plans to work with the Civic Trust and the district council to ensure the square retains its atmosphere.