Roads in Didcot’s new Great Western Park development could be named after seven fallen bomb disposal heroes.

Veterans last night welcome plans to honour the soldiers from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment.

The regiment’s headquarters is at Vauxhall Barracks in Foxhall Road.

Town councillor Tony Harbour contacted the regiment to suggest the tribute and the scheme will go ahead if it gets the backing of the soldiers’ families.

Father of two, Mr Harbour, 55, from the Ladygrove estate, said: “I’ve strong connections with the barracks from my time as mayor in 2008 to 2009.

“I spoke to Lieutenant Colonel Andy McCrae, the regiment commander, and he said this was a fantastic idea .

“He thought it would be a comfort to soldiers’ families to know that the town has recognised their sacrifice and that it will be remembered. In recent years people in the town have really got behind the barracks and this would be a continuation of that.”

About 3,000 new homes will be built at Great Western Park, off the A4130, by 2026, and Mr Harbour said the new streets could be small closes in the development.

Didcot Royal British Legion chairman Keith Hughes said: “This sounds like a good idea and I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t go ahead, provided the families are in favour of it.”

Ministry of Defence spokesman Chris Fletcher said: “The commanding officer has sent letters to the families alerting them to the proposal and asking them for permission for their loved ones’ names to be used in this way He has not yet heard back.

Heather Wood, 32, from Bicester, whose husband WO2 Charlie Wood, 34, of 23 Pioneer Regiment, was killed in an explosion in Helmand last year, said: “It is great the soldiers are not being forgotten and naming streets after them is a way for residents to keep their memory alive.”