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Asian Tourists Flock To Tiny Oxfordshire Village After ‘Harry Potter Tip’ From Rogue Tour Operator

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Homeowners in a quiet Oxfordshire village have been peering from their windows with bemusement - after coachloads of Asian tourists appeared in their gardens.

Baffled residents in ‘unremarkable’ Kidlington, Oxfordshire, have seen dozens of Chinese and Japanese holidaymakers wandering past their properties.

Tourists in large groups of up to 40 have been seen taking photos of houses and gardens, and even attempting to take selfies with residents.

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Sight-seeing: Asian tourists enjoy ‘unremarkable’ Kidlington. (SWNS)

The ‘usually quiet’ street of Benmead Road, was invaded by an influx of excitable tourists this week.

It is thought the unlikely visitors may have been told by rogue tour operators that Kidlington is the setting for Inspector Morse and even Harry Potter.

One homeowner, Tony Bennell, said: ‘You are used to seeing tourists going round the Universities in Oxford, or places such as Bourton-on-the-Water but not quite used to seeing them in Kidlington.

‘They do get very excited about it and really enjoy taking pictures in front of the gardens and flowers.’

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Meeting the locals: One bemused gardener introduces himself. (SWNS)

Retired electrician Michael Parsons added: ‘They always come on Thursdays because that’s when the bins go out. I have seen them taking photos of the dustbins.

‘They tend to get a bit up close and personal to the houses, walking up to the windows and on the gardens.‘

Villagers have said they don’t know why their sleepy area of Oxford has been a magnet for recent international attention.

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Sleepy: Kidlington is said by locals to be ‘usually quiet’. (SWNS)

Kidlington is one of the UK’s largest villages, with a population of over 15,000.

Benmead Road is a typical seventies housing estate and is nothing like a quaint English village, locals said.

Lindsey Axford, a resident of 25 years who lives on Benmead Road with her husband Nick, 58, said Kidlington certainly isn’t a quaint or cute English village.

The 58-year-old mum, a civil servant working at the Ministry of Justice, said: “I have been working in the garden or hanging washing up and they come up and smile.

Mystery: More holidaymakers take in the sights. (SWNS)

"If you interact, they ask for a photo but they don’t speak any English whatsoever.

Users of the ‘Spotted: Kidlington’ Facebook group, have come up with their own theories as to what the sudden interest in the village is all about.

Poster Joel Ryan, said: ‘I reckon that some tour guide has… told the tourists that the street is famous for being in the Harry Potter films (at the Dursleys) and they’ve only gone and bought it hook line and sinker.’

A spokesperson from ‘Into Japan Specialist Tour’, based in Kidlington, said: ‘Our best guess is that they’re from a Chinese tour company who are taking them to a typical Oxfordshire village on the way to Bicester.’

Parish councillor, Carole Pack, agreed with residents that tourists are causing “annoyance and worry’ by wandering on people’s property. She added: “Police even had to be called last week”.

Film location website Location Oxfordshire lists an episode of Inspector Morse as being filmed in Thrupp, just north of Kidlington.

The Boat Inn, on the canal in Thrupp, 1.4miles away, has also been featured in several episodes.