A school time capsule buried to help future generations in Wantage uncover more about the past has been lost.

Staff and pupils from Charlton primary school gathered in Limborough Road in the late 90s to bury the capsule.

It was sunk beneath the ground near the Sainsbury's supermarket, but now the store has moved to a different part of the site. The plan had been to move the capsule as well.

New store manager Kevin Chapman has appealed for a quick response from anyone who can help locate the original capsule before the site undergoes further expansion.

He said even one of his new employees, Sam Third, who joined the staff for their opening on February 8, and was a former pupil of Charlton Primary School when the capsule was buried, could not remember the exact location of the site.

Mr Chapman said: "We haven't found it to date and it may have to remain buried. We've spent a lot of time on this to no avail.

"The old store area is to be demolished, so we are running out of time. Sainsbury's has spent a lot of time trying to find this, but our confidence in doing so is now down to about 20 per cent."

A spokesman for Charlton School said staff had carefully looked through their records but had not been able to trace the capsule's location.

"We thought it was near the entrance to the left of the door, but it could be buried anywhere," she said.