Oxford Mail

A community centre is the latest place to be targeted in a spate of break-ins, external police believe is a one-man crime spree.

BBC Radio Oxford

Concerns about increased traffic in Steventon from an extended Truck Festival have not been completely allayed by a proposed diversion, the chair of the parish council says.

Matt Harrap, who organises the music festival, described the plans as "robust", but Steventon parish council chair Dick Bosley still has worries.

Banbury Guardian

Radio Horton has donated £375, external towards equipment and services at the Horton General Hospital following two successful fundraising events over the Christmas season.

Peter Cooke
BBC South Today

Two men accused of the murder of a woman who was shot in the head in Abingdon in November have pleaded not guilty.

Billy Johnson, 20, from Ripon Court, Corby, Northamptonshire, and Charles Noble, 20, from Kempton Avenue, Northolt, Ealing appeared this afternoon at Oxford Crown Court.

Kerry Reeves, 26, died two days after being shot in Abingdon on 3 November.

The £200m development of land in the Oxpens area of Oxford has been welcomed by the city council.

The site, between the Westgate shopping centre and Oxford railway station, is the largest remaining development area in the city centre and forms part of a larger regeneration project for the city.

The Guardian

The government’s anti-terrorism laws aimed at universities risk having a “chilling effect” on academic debate, external and a “deadening impact” on research, according to former director of public prosecutions Ken Macdonald who is now a warden of Wadham College, Oxford.

Traffic is building on the A4074 in Littlemore after a fallen tree partially blocked the road in both directions between the Henley Road junction and the Baldon Lane junction.

You can get the latest on the disruption caused by Storm Imogen on the BBC Travel site.

Linda Serck
BBC News

A new neighbourhood with up to 500 homes plus offices, academic buildings and commercial space could be built in a £200m revamp of Oxford's west end.

Image source, Google

The city council and Oxford University's Nuffield College have signed an agreement to form a joint venture company to build on at least 16.7 acres (6.8 ha) of land in Oxpens.

The housing will include social housing and homes for key workers.

Winds could reach gale force in places at times this afternoon, with blustery showers and sometimes heavy rain.

You can get a full forecast on the BBC Weather site.

Ross Heaton
BBC Oxford Sport

This afternoon's top sports stories:

• More than 1,000 seats for Oxford United's JPT final at Wembley were snapped up in the first 30 minutes of sales to season ticket holders this morning
• Despite the heavy rain, Oxford United executive chairman Darryl Eales is expecting tomorrow night's match against Mansfield to go ahead, after improvements to the Kassam pitch over the summer

As more heavy rain is expected in the county, the Environment Agency has issued flood alerts for: 

• River Thame and Chalgrove Brook
• River Cherwell
• Ginge Brook
• River Thames and tributaries
• River Ock
• River Windrush
• River Evenlode
• Sor Brook
• Bloxham Brook

An earlier flood warning on the River Cole has been lifted.

You can check the situation where you are with an Environment Agency map online, external.

Gusts of up to 65mph are expected inland as Storm Imogen moves across the country this afternoon.

Winds of nearly 80mph have already been recorded in coastal areas, and more heavy rain is expected in Oxfordshire before the storm clears this evening.

You can see Ben Rich's forecast for Storm Imogen's impact here.

Andrew Humphrey
BBC Local Live

Oxfordshire's top stories this afternoon:

• Flood alerts are in place across Oxfordshire as the full force of Storm Imogen is expected to hit this lunchtime
• Permission has been granted to allow Truck Festival to increase the number of people who can attend to 9,999
• Patients with female genital mutilation increased at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford from 29 in 2014 to 42 in 2015

A range of measures have been suggested by air quality experts commissioned by South Oxfordshire District Council to look at ways to reduce harmful vehicle emissions.

Image source, Getty Images

The action includes restricting certain types of traffic from using the bridge into Wallingford, and banning cars parking on certain streets in Watlington.

The council is running a consultation on the recommendations, and you can view them in details and have your say here, external.

Banbury Cake

A bid to take control of £4bn of spending, external for transport schemes and health and social care has been submitted to the government by Oxfordshire’s political leaders.  

Residents and businesses are being asked for their opinions about car parking in west Oxfordshire.

The district council has launched an online survey, external to help them understand drivers' concerns and ideas.

BBC Travel

A lane is blocked on the M40 northbound between J11 at Banbury and J12 for Gaydon because of a broken-down vehicle.

You can keep up to date with the BBC Travel site.

Bethan Phillips
Political reporter, BBC Radio Oxford

The Truck Festival organisers have been given permission to expand their capacity to 9,999 people.

Steventon Parish Council had objected to the increase because of the amount of traffic the event brings to the village.

But festival organisers outlined a new plan which would divert traffic away from Steventon.

BBC Radio Oxford's Phil Mercer braved the elements this morning to climb to the top of the University of Oxford's engineering building to take a look at its sunlight measuring Campbell-Stokes recorder.

Oxford University's Amy Creese explains that the device works by focusing the sunlight onto a special card, burning a line which indicates how long the sun was shining that day.