'Mysterious tourists' bewilder residents of Kidlington in Oxfordshire

Villagers suggest Harry Potter or Inspector Morse filming locations may be behind regular arrivals of tourists to an unexceptional suburban road

Kidlington's Benmead Road has recently become a tourist destination, though locals don't know why (Google)

Residents of Kidlington in Oxfordshire have been bemused by the arrival of “coach loads” of tourists every week to take pictures of an unremarkable suburban road.

For the past three weeks, groups of people have posed for photographs in front of houses and parked cars.

No clear reason for the visits havs yet been discovered, though residents have suggested it might be something to do with filming for films or TV programmes such as Inspector Morse and Harry Potter.

Others have suggested the camera-laden sight-seers may be the result of an anthropological study being carried out by students at Oxford University, five miles away.

It has caused hilarity in the quiet village where local attractions include the medieval church and performances by a long-running brass band.

According to residents who have been writing about the phenomenon on Facebook, buses have been arriving in Mill Street, and tourists have been walking down Benmead Road and the Moors, taking photographs of houses.

“Saw them the other week,” one resident said. “They were even in the gardens and at people’s front doors!”

“I must say I do find it hilarious but I am at a loss to understand it all,” another resident wrote.

“Is it something to do with Midsomer Murders? How about actually asking the tourists directly?” another suggested.