THIS pile of rubble is all that now remains of Weston’s Ashcombe pub – although supermarket Tesco has denied rumours it plans to build on the site.

The pub had been a fixture of the Ashcombe Road landscape for decades, but closed its doors for the final time two years ago.

It has lain empty since then, with mystery surrounding the site owner’s plans for the building.

However, demolition teams moved in last week and reduced the once-popular watering hole to the ground in a matter of hours.

And although worried neighbours say they were told by workers the site was being cleared to make way for a new Tesco Express, the chain has denied any interest in building at that location.

A Tesco spokesman said: “The Weston Ashcombe pub will not become a Tesco Express.”

Tesco distancing itself from the plot will be a relief to nearby convenience stores One Stop in Locking Road and Sue’s News in Ashcombe Road.

However, the Mercury understands Tesco is still eyeing the former water works site at the foot of Ashcombe Park in Milton Road.

The firm’s interest in this site follows an aborted deal to take over and convert the nearby Bristol House pub last year, after the idea was thwarted by a residents’ campaign and the refusal of planning permission.