Stephen Stafford
BBC News Online

The centenary of one of the earliest military flying units is being marked at a parade in Oxfordshire later.

Image source, Getty Images

No 33 Squadron was formed in 1916 to defend towns and cities against German airship raids. 

The current RAF squadron operates Puma HC2 helicopters, most recently deployed in Afghanistan.

Seven former RAF squadron leaders and the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire are due to attend a parade and memorial service at RAF Benson.

A six-week consultation is due to begin next Tuesday to allow communities to have their say on future flood risks in Oxford.

Five drop-in events will provide an update on the work the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme Project Team have been doing since the last public events were held in summer last year.

Oxford Mail

Oxford City Council's website has undergone a £95,000 facelift, external. The update – which appeared yesterday – has seen the main page redesigned into a grid-like layout, with bold colours used to help people with eyesight problems, and every other page overhauled and re-written.

Leaseholders in Oxford's five tower blocks are being asked to contribute towards their refurbishment, estimated to cost a total of £20m.

Oxford City Council says it has referred the matter to the Property Chamber, external to establish whether the charges are reasonable.

Image source, Google

Health regulator Monitor is to take action, external at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust to help it improve the way it investigates and reports deaths, particularly among people with a learning disability or experiencing mental illness.

Yesterday, board members said they would not resign after an inquiry found the trust failed to investigate hundreds of deaths.  

Witney Gazette

Hundreds of children and their parents gathered at a Witney church to watch CBeebies star Gemma Hunt launch, external a new kid-friendly event.  

There's one lane closed on the A44 Woodstock Road southbound in Oxford between Peartree Interchange and Wolvercote Roundabout, because of roadworks.

Flooding is also causing problems across the county:

• Hyde Road in West Hanney is closed at Church Street
• Old Wharf Road in Longcot is closed near Claypit Lane
• Lower Road in Long Hanborough is partially blocked at the A4095 Main Road
• Lower Street in Islip is closed between the B4027 Mill Street and Middle Street
• There's also flooding on the A4095 Main Road in Long Hanborough near Lower Road

Feeling colder this afternoon with a strengthening northwesterly wind, cloudier skies, and increasing amounts of showers during the afternoon, some heavy and blustery. Highs of 6C (43F). 

 For more details visit the BBC weather site.  

• Oxford United's players have been back in training today following their FA Cup heroics at the weekend
• The U's know they'll face a home tie against either Newport County or Blackburn Rovers
• Oxford United boss Michael Appleton is a former Blackburn manager but says he's not too concerned about whether it's them or Newport who make it through when their third round tie is decided next Monday

Oxfordshire's top stories this afternoon:

• Junior doctors are picketing in Oxford in support of a strike over planned changes to their contracts
• Heavy rain over the last few days has prompted the Environment Agency to issue flood alerts, external across Oxfordshire
• A wreath-laying ceremony has taken place in Cholsey to mark 40 years since the death of Agatha Christie

There's been a multi-car crash on the A34 in East Ilsley.

At least six vehicles are thought to have been involved in the collision.

One lane is closed and there's slow traffic northbound after the High Street.

The grandson of crime novelist Agatha Christie has been talking to BBC Radio Oxford about his famous grandmother on the 40th anniversary of her death.

A wreath has been laid this morning in St Mary's churchyard in Cholsey, where's she's buried.

The Herald

People have been urged to make sure they are fully prepared for flooding, external as rivers continued to rise across Oxfordshire last night  

Professor Louise Richardson will be ceremonially installed as the new vice chancellor of the University of Oxford at a ceremony this afternoon.

Image source, University of Oxford

Prof Richardson will be the first female head in the university's history.

The installation ceremony is taking place at a meeting of Congregation - the university’s "parliament of dons" - in the Sheldonian Theatre.

Junior doctors joining the strike over new contracts say government plans for a seven-day NHS have not been thought through.

Image source, PA

Oxford United supporters appeared disappointed not to have drawn a Premier League side in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

But the prospect of a home game against either Newport or Blackburn could keep their cup dreams alive.

U's chairman Darryl Eales says they have been handed a winnable tie.

"From my perspective, any home game against anyone other than the top four is winnable for us," he says.

Oxford Times

Homeless shelters in Oxford could be forced to shut, external in the wake of proposed fresh cuts that would leave more people “sleeping on the streets, in prison or worse”.

A UK charity for patient safety says that, while it agrees that the NHS needs to move to a 24-hour model, it cannot do so overnight and with its current resources.

Some residents living in five Oxford tower blocks could be asked to pay up to £50,000 each towards their restoration.

Image source, Google

It will cost about £20million to modernise the 1960s buildings in Blackbird Leys, along with others in Wood Farm.  

Those who own their flats will be expected to pay their share, and the city council has now sent out estimates.

Oxford City Council says a range of repayment options will be offered once the final bills are set.

The county's top stories this morning:

• Tens of thousands of junior doctors, including those in Oxfordshire, strike in a dispute with the government over new contracts
• The misuse of money given to people to pay for care is being investigated by Oxfordshire County Council
• A wreath is being laid in St Mary's churchyard in Cholsey, where novelist Agatha Christie is buried, to mark 40 years since her death