RESIDENTS in some of the worst-hit areas of West Oxford have spoken of life without proper toilet facilities at the height of floods.

The busy road into the city opened on Sunday morning after being closed to vehicles for five days.

It made life particularly difficult for those living in Osney Court, as they were forced to wade through waist-high water to get out of their homes.

Some toilet drains in the residential area were blocked and residents had to use portable loos outside their flats.

Joanne Way, 40, said: “It was quite stressful as I couldn’t get in and out as the water was well over my knees.

“We were asked if we wanted alternative accommodation but I have three cats and they said they couldn’t take people with pets. The main problem was the drains were full so people couldn’t use their toilets.”

Problems in Binsey Lane were made worse by a series of power failures.

Geoffrey Ferrari, 36, who lives in the flats at Edwin Court with girlfriend Joanne Edwards, 30, said: “Our garage has been flooded, but luckily we moved our car the week before. The power went in the flats on Thursday so we were unable to pump the water out and it started to rise again.”

Bullstake Stake was one of the streets most affected by the flooding and yesterday road workers remained in place as a precautionary measure.

Oxford City Council road worker Joe Lake said: “The river levels are dropping very quickly.

“If it were to rain again I don’t think it would be too drastic and we would be able to cope.”

Elsewhere, binman Graham Woelki, 36, was back on the job after he was unable to do his weekly collection on Friday.

He said: “People don’t like having food waste lying around and so it’s good to be back to normal.”