The Priory pub in Grenoble Road has been targeted by vandals and arsonists since it closed last week.

Thames Valley Police was called to the pub near the Kassam Stadium yesterday at around 9am, after almost every window had been smashed.

Firefighters were also called to the pub at around 8.30am on the same day to put out a small fire involving rubbish and a CO2 cylinder. A spokesman for the service said it believed the fire was started deliberately.

The pub, which is popular with Oxford United fans, was closed by owner Firoz Kassam last week because of the landlord’s debts.

A spokesman for the police force could not say whether the incident was being treated as suspicious because officers wanted to make sure the damage was new, but added that an investigation is being carried out.