THE competition watchdog has ordered supemarket chain Somerfield to sell four of its stores in the region.

The ruling follows an investigation by the Competition Commission into the acquistion of 115 stores from Safeway owner Morrisons.

The commission previously identified 14 sites where the acquisition gave cause for concern, but that figure was reduced to 12 following consulations.

In its submission last month, Somerfield accused the Competition Commission of acting on a theoretical possibility that the company would behave in a certain way.

Somerfield must sell the stores it acquired from Morrisons at Linthorpe, Middlesbrough; Filey, North Yorkshire; and South Shields, South Tyneside.

The future of a store in Yarm, near Stockton, operating under the Somerfield banner is also in question. The chain has been told it can either sell the acquired store, or another outlet that it already owned in the area.

The Competition Commission reduced the number of stores to be sold by two because it was satisfied that sites at Bedlington and Paisley would not affect the local grocery market.

The retailer, which completed the transfer of the stores in March, is in the middle of a three-year programme to refurbish the sites.

Most of the outlets have been defined by the Competition Commission as mid-range stores, which are below the size of one-stop shops, where most households carry out their main, weekly shop.

Somerfield, which may appeal against the decision, said it would consider the findings of the inquiry at its next board meeting on Thursday.

The chain said last month: "Somerfield considers that the commission has merely identified a potential lessening of competition and labelled it significant, presuming that adverse effects will follow.

"It is submitted that that is legally insufficient.

"The commission has given no reason why Somerfield's practices in the identified local markets are likely to differ from those already found in the real world."

Richard Ratner, a retail analyst at Seymour Pierce stockbrokers, said the ruling was an "irritant" to Somerfield and that it was unlikely to discourage two potential bidders from tabling an offer for the group.