About 150 people including pensioners and families with small children have been taken from their homes in the deluged city centre to a football stadium on the outskirts of the university city.

There, charities including the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance are giving them food, clothing, basic toiletries and a place to sleep -- often in hospitality boxes which overlook the football pitch.

There are also hand and shoulder massages for people whose bodies were strained by the evacuation and a prayer room for moments of quiet contemplation.

Joanne Way, a 34-year-old mother of six, said she and her children, aged between one and 14, left their home Sunday as tributaries of the River Thames burst their banks, spilling dark water onto the streets.

Although full of praise for the charities' work, she said she was frustrated by the varying advice coming from authorities about the flooding levels.

The flooding in Oxford was initially expected to peak Monday night, but now even higher water levels are expected in the coming hours.

"It's up and down and up and down and that's what's really frustrating," she told AFP.

"I've been down there every day and it's like, 'what's the situation today?' -- 'well, it's quite alright today actually, we think we're going to be alright'. Then you go five hours later and all hell's broke loose, it's like a completely different story."

Like many, she said she had no housing contents insurance and was worried about the cost of replacing her possessions.

"Everything's new -- brand new cookers that we've put in ourselves and fridges and freezers and washing machines," she said.

"That takes time getting all that stuff. There's no way we can afford to do it in one."

Officials at the stadium say it could accommodate up to 1,500 people for as long as they need shelter, although the local council is beginning to find temporary housing for some.

British Red Cross team leader Carol Mackay, who has worked on disasters including the July 7, 2005 suicide bombings in London, said spirits were "extremely high" and that they were executing a pre-laid contingency plan.

The neighbouring Holiday Inn Express hotel is housing many of the elderly people who have been evacuated from their homes, including Kathy Nissim, 85, who was forced out by the rising waters Wednesday morning.

"At half past six this morning ,the police were on my doorstep offering to remove me and I said, 'yes please'," she said, adding she felt "very depressed" at what had happened to her home.

"My lovely carpets were inundated, my white covered furniture is inundated so it's ruined my house. Basically, I might move out altogether."