A PROPOSAL to close off a path alongside the Thames in Oxford with locked gates to stop antisocial behaviour is being opposed by residents.

Oxford City Council is proposing to lock a gate that leads from Folly Bridge to a path on the north bank of the river with a second locked gate 100 yards up the path by Shire Lake Close.

Only residents would have a code to unlock them.

People who live alongside the path say they have been battling with people drinking, taking drugs and defecating there for years, but even they say that locking the footpath is a step too far.

The idea was among several solutions discussed at a public meeting at the Town Hall on April 1, including a Public Spaces Protection Order, which would allow police to issue on-the-spot £100 fines for drinking, littering or defecating.

David Dent, who lives in Thames Street, said some problems were caused by homeless people in and around Speedwell Street – a road which was, until February 13, subjected to a police Dispersal Order Zone, banning people from congregating there.

But he said having locked gates was not fair.

He said: “It’s not fair for the wider public who use that footpath – the Thames is a public resource.”

Tony Dale, footpaths officer for the Ramblers Association in Oxford, said his group would definitely oppose the move in principle.

Police said they had been called to antisocial behaviour problems on the footpath about once a month over the past five months, but said the problem could get worse in the summer.

City council leader Bob Price promised that there would be a public consultation before any definite action was taken.