THE demolition of a derelict pub marked the end of an era for a Worcester community this week.

Wreckers moved in yesterday to dismantle the Drakes Drum in Tudor Way, Dines Green, to make way for a multi-million pound housing development.

It was an emotional moment for resident Freda Griffiths, who has lived in the street for 56 years.

The 80-year-old mother-of-two has witnessed both the rise and fall of the pub over the past half a century.

The great grandmother-of-11 told the Worcester News: “I watched them build it and now I’m watching them pull it down.

“To me it’s sad. I moved here in April 1956 and gave birth to my daughter in May.

“I used to sit here nursing her and watching them build it. It was amazing how they did the curved structure. It was wonderful because they did such a lovely job on it.

“They had window boxes and did a fantastic opening. When my dad came over to do odd jobs I used to take him there for a pint. It was a very nice pub.

"It had a skittles alley and there used to be a little shop at the side.”

The site is being prepared for the £3 million development of 23 two-bed apartments as part of Worcester Community Housing’s £12 million overhaul of some areas of the Dines Green estate.

There will be 19 flats for tenants and four shared ownership apartments over a two and four-storey single block.

It will have disabled-accessible parking bays and 29 spaces in all, with a grassed garden area at the rear of the site.

The demolition was given the go-ahead after a small population of bats roosting in the empty pub were moved.

Jane Fradgley, WCH’s development manager, said they were currently out to tender for the main construction and hoped to appoint a contractor in the middle of May.

She said it was hoped building work would begin in the summer, aiming for completion within a year.