THIS will be the final nail in the coffin.

That is what one struggling shop owner is claiming about a Southampton supermarket giant’s plan to extend its opening hours just months after it arrived in the area.

Sainsbury’s in Portswood initially lost its bid to open up earlier and close later.

But now bosses from the retail store are appealing the refusal by Southampton City Council to allow them to trade between 7am and 11pm Monday to Saturday.

The superstore opened on the High Street, opposite The Mitre pub, in March with permission to trade between 8am and 9pm.

But shop owners in the area have voiced concerns that the superstore is already dominating trade and fear the situation will only get worse.

Ali Bakhtsher, 52, owner of Portswood Halal Meat Centre, said his shop has been killed off and he is facing having to sell his business .

He told the Daily Echo : “I started from scratch and opened this shop in 1999, and I was turning over £29,000 a week, but now I am doing £11,000.

“I can’t afford to keep my shop. I’m going to have to sell it.” “This plan to extend opening hours is the final nail in the coffin, but my shop is already dead.”

Mr Vakhtshes said customers no longer go near his 13-year-old store, close to Waitrose, because they use the other end of Portswood Road near Sainsbury’s instead.

His concerns were echoed by fellow shop owners.

One manager, who asked not to be named, said: “Sainsbury’s is really destroying the independent shops here.

"This is a close-knit community. We all help each other out, but since they opened it’s been tough.

“Each shop is competing for every tiny bit of business. I hope the council reject their appeal.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said that the proposed increased hours would make the store more accessible for local shoppers.

He added: “We do not believe that the extended opening hours would impact on traders in the High Street as there are very few retailers within the centre that are open beyond 9pm.”

An appeal hearing is taking place at Southampton Civic Centre today with a final decision to be made by November 18 at the latest.