THE future of an abandoned pub that was scorched by fire last week is shrouded in mystery.

Firefighters hosed down The Saxton Arms in Abingdon on Wednesday night after a blaze that police believe could have been deliberately lit.

The Abingdon Herald has since been trying to track down its owner and discovered that it has been sold twice in the space of four months, most recently to a 'local' buyer at the end of September.

Mum-of-four Belinda Monaghan, who grew up on Saxton Road and now lives round the corner in Reynolds Way, said: "I've heard it's going to be flats; I've heard it's going to be a Tesco – there are so many stories.

"Someone took all the boards off the windows about two weeks before the fire. Everyone thought they were going to start doing work on it."

The 44-year-old grew up around the pub and said it was used by 'everyone both young and old'.

She added: "It's sad that it's been shut. It used to bring a lot of people together.

"I wouldn't like to see it turned into flats - I'd like to see something for the young kids, and open centre or drop-in with a pool table or something.

"The kids haven't got anything to do around here."

The former pub's previous owner Hawthorn Leisure, which bought the empty building from Greene King in 2014, sold the Saxton Road property in June.

Spokeswoman Suzanne Jackson said: "This property was not viable for our portfolio. Its future is at the discretion of the purchasers."

Land Registry last lodged a sale in June for £320,000 to Opco 1 Limited – but a director of the company insisted they have sold it on September 21, though he would not say who to.

He said: "We purchased the property in order to develop it into residential, however somebody local wanted to purchase it."

The pub had a planning application approved last year for a shop, submitted by Hawthorn Leisure, and another for five flats which was submitted by a Portsmouth-based company called Cordage Estates Ltd.

Reg Parshad, who runs Reynolds Supermarket in nearby Reynolds Way, said he was 'definitely relieved' to hear that it might not be turning into a rival food shop.

He added: "It's been changing from hand to hand but these things take time. The pub was quite popular but unfortunately with the times things die down and get expensive."

Thames Valley Police spokeswoman Lucy Billen said officers are investigating a suspected arson at the pub, which happened at about 8pm, but said no arrests have been made.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service incident commander Adam Cook said firefighters prevented any major damage.