Workman on hammock mural mocks roadwork delays

A mural depicting a workman lounging on a hammock has been painted to convey the frustration felt by many over delays to major roadworks.

Road to Nowhere was inspired by the £231m Botley Road project to upgrade Oxford Station, which resulted in the route first closing in April 2023.

Artist Mani Manson-Reeves, known as The Big Orange M, said the idea for the piece came to him while he way stuck in a traffic jam on the train.

Network Rail said it understood why people felt frustrated and that the "vital" work was due to be completed by August 2026.

The artwork outside West Oxford Community Centre features a sign reading "work starts 11/04/2023 for 1,208 days and counting".

Reacting to the piece, resident Gillian told the BBC: "It's quite crude but it's quite clever, and I think it depicts the situation very well."

Lara added: "It shows the frustration of the people who live here - it's not very nice living here at the moment.

"The guys who are working down there wearing hi-vis suits are not lying down, they're working really hard - I think it should show someone from management lying down and not doing anything."

The piece was created by artist Mani Manson-Reeves, known as The Big Orange M

Business owners previously told the BBC they were "enraged" after learning they did not qualify for a goodwill payment for the long-term closure of Botley Road.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "We regularly communicate with those affected by our work and welcome suggestions on how we can lessen the impact at the community sessions.

"Our work is vital to creating a bigger, better station for everyone, providing more services with East West Rail, adding rail capacity for the future and an improved and safer road layout."