A BUS shelter built in the middle of an Abingdon cycle path has been ripped out weeks after being installed after the county council admitted it made a 'mistake'.

It followed repeated calls for the removal of the new shelter on Drayton Road, between Preston Road and Stonehill Lane, which was erected in August.

These were led by town council leader Mike Badcock, who called the structure 'dangerous' and said he had received complaints from concerned residents.

Mr Badcock, who represents Caldecott ward where the bus shelter is located, explained: "If you have a mum with a pushchair there was no room for a bike to get by.

"It was either going to lead to an accident or force the cyclist onto the road, defeating the purpose of having a cycle path in the first place."

He added: "It was dangerous and hadn't been thought through at all.

"It was always going to be lead to more expense when they had to dig the bus shelter up and move it somewhere more sensible."

The shelter was taken out last week with Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Paul Smith stating: "The county council has reacted and removed the shelter. We are investigating the best location for the bus stop and associated infrastructure."

Asked why the bus shelter had been placed there in the first place Mr Smith said it had been 'a mistake'.

Responding to the removal, Mr Badcock said: "Common sense has now prevailed, thankfully, but I think residents will now be keen to know when the bus stop is going to be reinstalled as we need services along Drayton Road."

He added it was possible for the authority to get it right as it had also installed a shelter on the opposite site of the road, where there was adequate room for cyclists to get by and it did not pose a risk.

Both bus shelters were built with cash from housing developer Taylor Wimpey which is building the 158-home Morland Gardens estate off Drayton Road.

A Taylor Wimpey spokesperson said: "In accordance with the section 106 agreement for our Morland Gardens development, we provided £20,600 in financial contributions to Oxfordshire County Council towards the cost of improving bus stop facilities in the area."

But the developer denied having anything to do with choosing the location, adding: "The works to install new bus stops along Drayton Road were carried out by the Local Highways Authority as this land is owned by Oxfordshire County Council."

The Drayton Road bus stop, known as Ladygrove Paddock, is used by several Thames Travel services including the X2 Oxford to Wallingford as well as Stagecoach's 34 Oxford to Wantage route.