MARSTON residents have staked a claim on a plot of land to protect the memorial tree which stands on it.

The land is on the corner of Marston Road and Old Marston Road and sits outside the old Friar pub which is soon to be turned into a Tesco supermarket.

The residents are hoping to claim the land via a common law process called adverse possession, where members of the public can taken physical control over land with the aim of owning it.

If the owner fails to come forward, the land can be taken. To this end, a fence has now been placed around the site. But the action has come to the attention of rightful owner Oxfordshire County Council, prompting officers to call a meeting with the residents to resolve the issue.

Roger Baycock, who runs saxophone shop Allegro Oxford in Marston Road, pictured front left with other residents and traders, said: “This space has been used by residents and will be a focus for a commemorative plaque for the Marston residents lost in the Second World War.

“As far as I know the council has not been maintaining it.

“You don’t want scruffy bits of land because people will treat it as a tip. We would be able to maintain it.”

Residents want trees that were planted on Armistice Day 1950 remembered with plaques.

County council spokesman Marcus Mabberley said: “Those who have put up the fence have illegally encroached on the publically maintained highway and could not therefore claim the land by adverse possession.

“We are in the process of setting up a meeting between county council officers, relevant councillors, Tesco and residents regarding the trees.”