Officials from a Russian town trying to set up cultural links with south Oxfordshire towns and villages have been turned down by five different areas.

The town of Oca would like to form a cultural and educational link with Vale of White Horse District Council and wants to liaise on social and welfare issues.

Earlier this year, representatives from the town visited Oxfordshire and liked what they saw of Abingdon, Wantage, Grove, Faringdon and Cumnor.

Oca asked the district council's twinning department if it could help establish a link with one of the communities. But so far all have declined.

The latest to turn down the offer is Abingdon, a town with more twinning links than any other in Oxfordshire.

Town clerk Nigel Warner said: "We appreciate the interest shown by Oca but we have very active links with five towns in Europe and we feel we cannot take on board any more commitments."

Abingdon's twinning links go back more than 40 years when it teamed up with Argentan in France, followed by Schongau in Germany in 1970 and Lucca, Italy, two years later. The town also has links with Colmar, France, and Sint-Niklaas in Belgium, towns which are twinned with the Vale District.

Oca is 800 miles east of Moscow in the Perm region. Although mainly a rural district, it has oil reserves and pharmaceutical industries.

Vale of White Horse District Council twinning officer Lorna Edwards said: "Oca is keen to twin with a community in the Vale but so far without success.

"The local voluntary twinning organisations are busy with existing twinning arrangements and it appears they cannot take on any more work."

**This weekend, two dozen students from Abingdon's five linked towns in Europe are arriving for a week of English language tuition at Abingdon and Witney College.

It is the Vale's contribution to the European Year of Languages.

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