A major Oxford city centre road is to fully close following emergency gas works.

George Street will be shut temporarily from 9am on Wednesday, March 27, to 9am on Thursday, March 28.

This closure is due to important gas works being conducted in the area which require the road to be empty while engineers solve the problems.

Several major city centre bus routes have been affected as a result of the sudden closure with many services being rerouted and missing previous stops.

A spokesperson for Oxford Bus Company said: “Due to emergency gas works, George Street will be temporarily closed from 9am on Wednesday to 9am on Thursday.

“During this time stops A2, A5 and B1 will be temporarily suspended, and our 300, City6 and City35 services will be diverting.

“Passengers travelling towards Wolvercote and Peartree are advised to use stops C2/C3 on Magdalen Street.

“Passengers travelling towards Redbridge and Abingdon are advised to use the City Sightseeing stop on Beaumont Street, opposite the Ashmolean Museum.”

It is expected that these routes will return to normal service after the emergency gas works.

Oxford Bus Company also warned that its smartcard system would be out of use for three hours on Wednesday.

“Our key smartcard system will be down for maintenance on Wednesday, March 27, between 11am and 2pm,” added the spokesperson.

“During this time, customers will be unable to access their key card accounts to top-up or view their balance.

“This will affect our travel shops facilities as well.”