MOTORBIKES were the new mode of transport for Oxford City Police in 1956.

Traffic problems were growing in the city as more families bought cars, and police struggled to keep vehicles moving through the narrow streets.

So to combat this problem, the city police decided to buy lightweight motorcycle especially for the city.

PC K Parkinson is seen going for a test run on one of the new bikes.

Although the experiment was in its early stages when the picture was taken, Chief Constable Clem Burrows described it as 'already a wonderful success'.

PC Parkinson and his colleagues were able to nip through the traffic queues to deal with the problem more quickly than in the past, he said.