A Northallerton trader has claimed he could be forced out of business by the giants of retail, just days after the supermarket boom was blamed for the closure of a family firm.

Robert Brown, who owns Link Stores on The Link in Romanby, says he has suffered a severe loss of trade since the opening of a new Co-op supermarket on Boroughbridge Road.

Mr Brown, who has run the shop for the past four years, expressed his serious fears for the future in the wake of the closure of one of Northallerton's oldest family businesses.

S and A Trueman butchers closed last week after 42 years on the High Street, with three generations of butchers trading there.

Manager Andrew Trueman said the popularity of local supermarket giants and out-of-town retail parks had made it impossible for the business to survive.

Plans are still in the pipeline for a new Safeway store to be built on Willowbeck Road and work is currently under way to double the size of the Tesco store on East Road.

Mr Brown said: "It has never been a real goldmine here, but it has always been enough to make a living from.

"But this Co-op store has been absolutely devastating for us and I can't afford to lose a third of my business like I have done. At the end of the day, I'm thinking I might have to shut the place down. I'm on the borderline as to whether or not I can carry on."

The Co-op store has only been open for a few weeks, but Mr Brown said there had been times when his shop, which is open from 7am to 8pm each day, had been taking only around £100 a day.

Northallerton Chamber of Trade has already expressed concern over the future of the High Street and a major review of retailing is taking place in the area