RESIDENTS at Evenlode and Windrush were aghast yesterday at the news that panels in the towers had failed fire safety tests after receiving repeated assurances from the council that cladding was 'fire retardant'.

In a letter sent to the 348 households in Oxford's towers on Tuesday, July 20 the council's head of housing services, Stephen Clarke, listed fire safety measures in place.

He said: "The external cladding fitted to your block is fire retardant. We also made sure that external cladding has 'fire breaks' between each floor."

Leaseholder Darren Hazell, who rents out a flat in Windrush Tower, said he felt residents had been 'fobbed off' and 'lied to' by previous letters of reassurance.

He said: "The letter said 'external cladding on your block' - specifically my block, Windrush Tower - 'is fire-retardant'. That's after the Grenfell disaster.

"It's absolutely appalling. The council have misled us and if I was living there today in my own flat, I would be having a sleepless night knowing what I know."

At a press conference yesterday, city council leader Bob Price had not misled residents, adding that the council was 'not wrong' in its letter.