Householders have given £500 towards refurnishing a community centre that was gutted by fire.

However, more money is needed so every family on the 1,200 home Southwold estate in Bicester has been asked to contribute £1 to help pay for new furniture at the centre.

The centre was severely damaged by arsonists last October.

Insurance will cover most of the £150,000 cost of repairs, but Southwold Community Association decided to ask residents on the estate, off Buckingham Road, Bicester, to help with the cost of re-furnishing the centre.

The association's chairman, Derek Colden, said: "Our members have been going round all the roads, with the help of a Guide company."

He said electrical goods suppliers Powerhouse and Principal Furniture in Churchill Road, Bicester, had given the centre generous discounts on kitchen equipment and furniture.

A house clearance specialist gave the association 30 stacking chairs.

The repairs to the building had enabled the association to change the layout of some of the rooms in the centre in Holm Square on the estate to help make it more attractive to hirers.

Bubbles playgroup, which found a temporary home at Bure Park primary school, will be the first organisation to move back into the centre on September 10.