Demolition work has begun at Ashfield House in Ashby - which is being bulldozed to make way for a new Lidl supermarket.

In August, Demolition proposals were submitted to North West Leicestershire District Council for the office block on Resolution Road on the site where the discount supermarket is set to be built.

It said demolition work would begin on September 12, and heavy machinery is now being used to take the building apart.

Demolition work has now began at Ashfield House. Photo: Ashby Nub News

No date has yet been published for construction work to begin on the supermarket.

But our photo shows that Ashfield House is now starting to come down.

Lidl had long been eyeing up the site, just off Nottingham Road, as the location for a new store.

But the scheme proved to be a controversial one with fears raised of increased traffic congestion - even 'paralysis' - in an already busy area.

How the new Lidl supermarket is set to look. Image: Lidl

Planning officers at North West Leicestershire District Council approved the demolition of the empty block.

A "clean and contemporary" supermarket is due to be built in its place, creating 40 local jobs in the Ashby area, the supermarket chain said.

Planning permission has already been given for the supermarket to be built - despite strong local opposition.

Some have questioned whether the site was the best location for the store, with suggestions that Ashby's Money Hill development could have been an alternative.

• Additonal reporting by Local Government Reporter Hannah Richardson.