A 57-year-old man died at the scene of a five-car crash in West Oxfordshire, police have said.

The collision happened on Friday at about 12.30pm on the A424, between Burford and Stow-On-The-Wold at the turn-off for Idbury.

Thames Valley Police said another driver and passenger have also sustained serious injuries but they are not though to be life-threatening.

The 57-year-old man was driving one of the vehicles involved in the crash. His next of kin have been informed of his death, the force said.

Witnesses described how the crash brought traffic on the A424 to a standstill as police, fire service and ambulance vehicles blocked off part of the narrow, winding route. It was closed until about 7.30pm.

Grandmother-of-three Jackie Harriet-Hylton, whose home in Idbury is about a quarter of a mile from the site of the collision, said she had helped co-ordinate traffic with the help of two passing Royal Air Force staff.

The 60-year-old told the Oxford Mail: "By the time we got to the evening rush hour, there were school buses, lorries, cars and even horse boxes trying to get through.

"It must have been a terrible accident for everyone involved, but the road is very narrow and people also needed help to get home.

"A policeman told us it was best for members of the public to not to get involved, but if we hadn't there would have been carnage.

"It was bedlam really for quite a while, we just wanted to do what we could to help."

Nearby, in the village of Fifield, parish meeting chairwoman Catherine Hitches said the road was known by residents to be dangerous.

She added: "I have been asking for speed checks to be carried out there for two years. I can think of at least 10 cars that have been written off on it in the last decade and that turn to Idbury can be very dangerous."

Police have issued an appeal for information about the incident.

Those with information should contact PC Kelly Hobson from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit at Bicester by calling 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.