A village near Oxford has moved a step closer to its dream of having its own shop, two decades after the last one closed.

Neighbours in Sandford-on-Thames hope to open a community shop and cafe in the new year.

The village’s last shop, at the old Post Office in Church Road, closed about 20 years ago.

Villagers have been fundraising for the project for the last six months by selling local produce at a weekly Saturday market in the village hall, Henley Road.

The project started with a team of 20 people, but there are now 50 volunteers involved and the market has already raised about £25,000.

Now the group, Talking Shop, hopes raise £65,000 for a permanent home for the shop at the village hall.

Chairman Abi Johnson said: “The project has been going from strength to strength.

“I don’t think any of us anticipated the number of people who are now involved or the amount people are spending, which is really encouraging and exciting.

“But we need to look now at how to create a sustainable, long-term facility.

“The project is changing as we get a better understanding of what people want in the village.

We are hoping to create space for the project at the village hall, perhaps building a separate room for it.”

It is the latest in a series of community shop ventures in Oxfordshire villages, including Appleton, Islip, Leafield and Brightwell-cum-Sotwell.

Nationally, the Woodstock-based Plunkett Foundation has helped set up more than 250 in recent years.

Sandford’s Saturday market at the village hall runs from 8.30am to noon.