Work has begun on the £160,000 re-building of a community centre that was gutted by fire.

Southwold Community Centre in Bicester was burned out by an arson attack last September.

Costs of the damage have been covered by an insurance claim by the owners Cherwell District Council. But residents on the estate of more than 1,000 homes are going to be asked to pay 1 each towards the cost of new furniture.

Derek Colden, chairman of Southwold Community Association, said: "While the building was covered by insurance, the furniture owned by the association was not. So we will be going round to every house on the estate soon asking for a £1 donation towards new furniture."

The work on the centre should be completed by July.

Chris Rothwell, Cherwell's sport and recreation manager, said: "We are talking with the primary school next door to see if some additional joint security measures can be taken during the re-build. We might come up with something to the benefit of the school, the community association and ourselves."