People living on a west Oxfordshire estate are raising their glasses in celebration after securing a plot of land on which to build a pub.

Space was set aside for a pub when building work first started on the 1,000-home Deer Park estate, in Witney, ten years ago. But a pub never materialised because no brewery was prepared to build one.

In 1997 a group of people living on the estate formed Community Pub plc and sold shares to raise money to buy the land and build their own pub.

But legal problems over the ownership of the land delayed the scheme - and a national brewery then expressed an interest and put in a bid to build a much larger pub.

Community Pub plc spokesman Barry Beadle said: "We mounted a campaign to persuade the prospective purchaser of the error of their ways. The company was eventually taken over and the new management withdrew their offer."

Now Community Pub plc has bought the land for £85,000. The company estimates it will cost £350,000 to build the pub and has already received an offer of £85,000 towards the cost from a national brewery.

Mr Beadle said: "Next month we will be launching a prospectus to attract new investors. We are set well to deliver on our promise of doing so much for the community by doing well for our shareholders."