Lower Heyford one-way signs to stop walkers getting too close

Signs have been put up to create a one-way system for pedestrians around a village to avoid people getting too close during the coronavirus pandemic.

Bruce Eggeling, parish councillor for Lower Heyford, Oxfordshire, put up the signs after realising there were narrow spots on two walks around the village.

People are being urged to stay 2m apart to help avoid spreading the virus.

The signs ask people to walk in an anti-clockwise direction on a short loop and clockwise on a longer loop.

Mr Eggeling said it appeared people walking around the village - which is about six miles west of Bicester - were doing as they were asked by the signs to stay safe.

He said: "We are a law-abiding lot in Lower Heyford."

Mr Eggeling added: "I think it's inevitable that there would be those who will grumble and moan but for the most part I think people have accepted them.

"There's nothing mandatory. If people go around it [in the opposite direction on the walks] that's their prerogative."

The short loop is about a mile long, while the longer loop is about two-and-a-half miles long.

Mr Eggeling said between 40 and 50 people in the village - which has about 200 households - had come forward to help a village charity.

The Lower Heyford and Caulcott Community Fund gets its income from the rent of property and agricultural land in the parish.

The parish council said it is used to help people who are in genuine need or financial hardship.

"I think there's very good support here," Mr Eggeling said.