STORE giant Tesco is pressing ahead fast on its new store in South Oxford.

The Tesco Express store will replace the former Fox and Hounds pub at the junction of Abingdon Road and Weirs Lane.

Demolition of the derelict pub, which was badly damaged in a blaze in 2009, started in July after Tesco was given planning permission by Oxford City Council to build the store.

Residents have long campaigned for a change after the burnt-out building became more derelict.

The company had originally bought the pub in 2008 and made several unsuccessful attempts to get planning permission before getting the go-ahead.

The firm originally hoped to open the new store by the end of last year, but work was delayed by last month’s floods.