Parish councillors in a north Oxfordshire village are livid after the Army revealed plans to close their main road on December 8 so a monument can be installed.

The Army is closing the road through Arncott from 6am, to put a Tornado aircraft on a plinth outside an office block.

It will form part of a display depicting the three armed services supplied by the agency that runs the Bicester Defence Storage and Distribution Centre.

But parish councillors are livid because no one consulted them first.

Parish councillor John Lorenzen said: "The road closure will mean residents wanting to go to church in Ambrosden or Bicester will have to make long detours.

"The emergency services, too, will have difficulty reaching Arncott.

"I think the exercise could be costing about £20,000 and is a waste of public money.

"The site will look like a mini Imperial War Museum."

Flight Lieutenant Adrian Dant, project officer for the exercise, said the Tornado was being brought from RAF St Athan, in South Wales.

The Army hoped to have installed it by lunchtime.

Colin Carritt, Oxfordshire County Council highways surveyor based in Bicester, said: "The road closure was chosen for a Sunday as it is the quietest day on the roads and is likely to cause the least disruption.

"I doubt the work will take all day."