OXFORD: Demolition of the derelict Fox and Hounds pub, to make way for a supermarket, began yesterday.

Tesco spokesman Beth Greenhouse confirmed contractors were pulling down the building at the corner of Abingdon Road and Weirs Lane, above, but was unable to say how long the work would last or when the Tesco Express store would open.

Mohammad Afzal, who owns the nearby Nisa convenience store and post office, in Abingdon Road, said: “Tesco is coming in. Every business down the road will be affected.”

The pub closed in 2007 and was bought by Tesco in 2008. A fire damaged the building in 2009.