A controversial new anti-car filter scheme in the heart of a historic city is crippling businesses and leaving roads completely gridlocked, according to furious locals.

Some motorists claim they were stuck for so long in Oxford city centre on Sunday, October 11 that car park staff were forced to hand out water as queues took hours to clear.

It follows Lib Dem-run Oxfordshire County Council’s decision to introduce a new scheme which punishes drivers with £70 fines if they pass through six key points around the city without a permit.

Read more: ‘Oxford has had it’: Lib Dem council accused of crippling business and leaving city centre gridlocked with hated new anti-car permit scheme