Firms are facing a recruitment crisis as BMW takes on extra workers to meet intense worldwide demand for the new Mini.

The Cowley car factory is hiring 1,800 temporary staff to build 30,000 cars by the end of this year and 100,000 next year.

Positions include production supervisors, electrical engineers, panel beaters, welders and paint sprayers.

About 600 vacancies still remain unfilled.

But the knock-on effect is that other firms, already suffering staff shortages because of the high cost of living in the county, are haemorrhaging more workers.

The Oxford Bus Company has seen about a dozen drivers leave for BMW in the last three months, when the firm's recruitment campaign began.

OBC pays £6.93 an hour Monday to Friday and £8.08 at weekends. This compares with £7.86 an hour paid to production-line workers at BMW, which does not run the production line at weekends.

OBC commercial manager, Phil Clark, said: "This has been a big problem for us and we have also had problems finding new staff.

"A lot of our drivers are skilled people who go back to their trade when conditions improve.

"In response to this we have set up a working party to improve conditions for our workers and, overall, we are about 30 drivers short of our 350 target.

"That has meant some cancellations and workers, such as managers and engineers, volunteering to drive."

It is also harder to get a cab because of a shortage of taxi drivers.

The director of St Aldate's-based 001 Taxis, Mark Green, said his firm currently operated 90 cars, about 30 short of its target.

He said recruiting had become even harder over the past three months. Because of the shortages, the firm recently answered 1,894 telephone calls in one day - but could take only 1,033 fares.

Mr Green said: "We could take 30 drivers on today, at least, and that's just our company. Others are in the same boat.

"The situation with BMW hasn't helped. They are offering particularly good rates up there."

Stagecoach Oxfordshire bus company has lost five staff to the Cowley BMW plant in the last two weeks.

Marketing manager David Whitley said: "It is possible more will follow.

"The more companies there are competing for staff, the harder it becomes to recruit the right quality of people," he added.

"In Oxford, despite paying some of the UK's highest wage rates for bus drivers, we have been forced to bring people to the area from Wales, Scotland and even France to help run our bus services."

Stagecoach drivers are paid £6.85 per hour. This rises to £7.88 per hour for Oxford Tube drivers. But Mr Whitley said there was "guaranteed opportunities for overtime" which BMW did not offer.

Mary Flavelle, policy and communications executive for Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "This is an inevitable situation.

"When a firm like BMW is doing well they recruit extra staff and this causes a migration of workers which will eventually reverse. This is especially apparent as we have very low unemployment in this area."

A spokeswoman for BMW said: "We have three recruitment agencies dealing with this and we're pleased with the success so far.

"We are not going out and targeting these people, no-one is being headhunted, but if someone thinks this is a better opportunity we will be happy to employ them."

David Young, district manager for the employment service, said Oxford's Job Centre had 4,000 vacancies, but only 330 people registered with it. But, he said, even without BMW, there would be plenty of work.

He said: "Everybody is having problems with recruitment. This is one of the tightest labour markets in the country - even in Europe.

"Most people coming out of work get fixed up with a job within two or three months at most."