Villagers have voiced concerns over the future of the Sutton Courtenay petrol station destroyed by fire after an explosion.

Fifty families were evacuated from their homes for almost 36 hours last Wednesday after the blaze at Sutton Courtenay Tyres.

A dozen residents attended a parish council meeting in the village hall yesterday to express their concerns.

Yvonne Cocking, 71, who lives next door to the garage, said: "It was such a shock, my house would have gone up if the wind had been in the wrong direction.

"I think residents just want assurance this is not going to happen again.

"We want to see the plans and see how it is going to be built."

Parish councillors urged residents to address their concerns to Vale of White Horse District council planning officers.

Nick Hardcastle, property manager for Leda Properties, which owns Sutton Courtenay Tyres, said: "We're definitely looking to rebuild the garage as a petrol station and tyre sales business."

"We're trying to work out if we need planning permission to rebuild the garage.

"We are making the best of what we can in servicing our customers at Tyre Sales Abingdon in Marcham Road for the time being.

"The three tyre fitters are working from our Abingdon base and our three other part time staff are not working."

Mr Hardcastle could not estimate the cost of the damage, adding that it could be autumn before the garage reopened.