Meridian Bicester

Police are appealing for witnesses after a woman was sexually assaulted in Bicester.

The victim, a woman in her thirties was walking along Chapel Street just before 9pm on Thursday when she was approached by a man who then assaulted her.

The man ran away in the direction of Priory Road.

The offender is aged in his late twenties to early thirties, approximately 5ft 7ins to 5ft 9ins, and had stubble on his chin. He was wearing a black hooded jumper and dark trousers.

The first food distribution scheme of its kind in the region is set to begin in Bicester in Oxfordshire today.

A new branch of Tesco - which opens at 8am today - will pioneer a service which will see surplus food donated to a foodbank. The store is looking for more charities to sign up to receive unsold fruit, vegetables and packaged foods. The FareShare FoodCloud is being carried out in conjunction with the organisation FareShare.

The initiative follows a pilot scheme at 14 stores last year after which 22 tonnes of food was donated to more than 50 charities.

Hotel chain Travelodge says it is opening 19 new sites - including at Poole and Bicester - creating 450 jobs.

It says it has identified a further 250 locations for possible development this year.

The company says it will be investing £140m into the expansion which will take its total number of hotels to 542.

A prompt emergency call saved two houses in Caversfield from serious fire damage.

At 4:42pm yesterday Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service were called to reports of a large garden shed on fire in Turnpike Road, Caversfield, near Bicester.

Within minutes a crew from Bicester arrived to find a severe fire which was spreading to the rear of two domestic properties. Additional fire engines were immediately requested and Firefighters tackled the fire using two water jets, a high pressure hose reel and thermal imaging cameras.

Fire engines from Bicester, Kidlington, Banbury and Buckingham attended the fire, which is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault. The occupants of all the houses evacuated safely and there were no injuries.

Staff fled from flames and hundreds of shoppers were turned away as a fire broke out at a popular shopping village preparing for the Easter rush.

Around 40 firefighters were called to the Bicester shopping village, in Oxfordshire, after a blaze broke out in an Italian restaurant.

Nearby residents saw plumes of smoke climb into the sky, as the designer outlet was shut down.

Asana Greenstreet reports:

Bicester Village reopened at 1300 this afternoon according to the shopping centre.

7 fire crews dealt with the blaze which started at 0840 this morning.

A number of shops remain closed.