Police have been bombarded by complaints about obscene letters delivered to dozens of addresses in Harwell.

One householder in Gaveston Road, who did not want to reveal his name, told the Oxford Mail: "I was already at work when my wife phoned to tell me about the letter which arrived through the post.

"It was disgusting and included pornographic pictures, which were bad enough for police to have closed down a newsagent if they had appeared in any magazine for sale."

Police at Didcot began receiving complaints, along with copies of the letter, on Tuesday and Pc Paul Langford said officers were trying to trace their source. Most or all of the letters, bearing a 20p stamp, seem to have been sent through the post and were photocopied on an A4-size sheet.

Pc Langford added: "It appears they were directed at one family in the village and would have caused great distress."

He said: "The letters with the photographs were obscene and explicit."

Among theories police are investigating is that the letters were sent by someone with a grudge against another family in the village.

Police are appealing for information, especially if any of the letters were delivered by hand on Monday night.

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