THESE ghostbusters-lookalikes hit the streets of Cowley yesterday to extract a different kind of spirit.

The 'voice extractors' are aiming to collect the noises people make and the way they speak as part of a project to capture what makes Oxford unique.

The thousands of sounds gathered will form part of a Voice Park at the Christmas Lights Festival where pods will speak back to visitors.

Each inter-linked pod will breathe until approached and then respond when someone speaks to them in both sound and light.

The concept was developed as part of the Hull City of Culture by artists Thor McIntyre-Burnie and Chloe Osborne and is being brought to Oxford by Oxford Contemporary Music (OCM)

Organisers said they want to suck in all the sounds and accents of the city and distil the 'power of the community's voice' into a powerful elixir.

Polly Nuttgens, of OCM, said: "We hear voices all the time but then they are lost.

"We think it is only a method of communication but it's a big part of who we are.

"Dialects and accents vary from city to city and we want to capture these nuances. This is about celebrating that."

The Voice Park will be open at the Castle Quarter from 4pm until 6.30pm and 7.30pm until 10pm on Friday and Saturday, November 16 and 17.

Voice extractors will visit Gloucester Green and the Westgate tomorrow and Blackbird Leys and Cornmarket on Sunday.