A photographer and a reporter from the Oxford Mail were escorted away from a crunch meeting between Oxford United and city councillors today.

United managing director Keith Cox was due to give councillors a date for work to re-start on building the club's new stadium at Minchery Farm.

Councillors had also been told that the club's new owners would be present - but this was later denied.

Reporter Chris Koenig and photographer Jon Lewis were not allowed to wait outside the committee room at Oxford Town Hall and were escorted to the front door by a city council officer.

Cllrs Val Smith and Tony Stockford, who represent wards adjoining the site of the half-built stadium, told the Mail they would be reporting what the club had to say to members of the council's Strategy and Resources Committee tomorrow.

Mrs Smith said: "We need to know the answers to a lot of questions so we can tell people in our wards what is going on.

"We do not want to be compromised - we need to know who is doing what and how they are paying."

Leader of the council Stan Taylor last month gave United, which owes the council millions of pounds, until today to come up with definite answers.

The meeting came as angry residents formed a group to protest about problems caused by the half-built stadium.

The group - formed by people living in Knights Road, Blackbird Leys - says children are climbing on scaffolding at the Minchery Farm site. Problems include:

Children breaking into the construction site to play on concrete piles

Thieves forcing their way in to steal building materials.

A spokesman for the group warned that it was only a matter of time before a child was seriously injured.

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