At sports grounds throughout Oxfordshire, the county's sports men and women paid their tribute to those killed in the terrorist action in the United States last Tuesday.

A minute's silence took place before every football and rugby match on Saturday, as the country remembered the 5,000-plus casualties in the horrific incidents which shocked the world.

Harwell rugby players line up before their game against Littlemore

Meanwhile, calls for the United States Grand Prix to be scrapped are likely to intensify today following the decision to postpone the Ryder Cup for a year.

The race at Indianapolis on Sunday week is still on but, logistically, it could become impossible to stage if the Americans launch retaliatory strikes to last Tuesday's terrorist atrocities.

Formula 1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone insisted over the weekend that the race would take place.

The debate on whether to compete in Indianapolis - especially at a time when the Americans could still be burying their dead - has split the sport.

David Coulthard admitted yesterday that he - like many others - was 'nervous' at the prospect of travelling to the United States.

Coulthard, said: "We have to recognise that it's a pretty difficult environment right now."