Tesco will sell alcohol for 17 hours a day at its ninth store in a town.

The new Tesco Express in Goring Road,opens on February 13.

The store has inspired a 300-strong petition claiming local businesses will be harmed.

Yesterday residents said they were worried the retail giant can sell alcohol from 6am-11pm seven days a week.

The company’s licence was granted automatically after Worthing Borough Council received no objections to its application.

But local people told The Argus they were worried about the impact.

Carl Haigh, 41, from George V Avenue, said: “We are getting overrun with supermarkets. There are still a fair few independent shops round here and that’s what we want, not just supermarkets and charity shops.

"There’s already too much traffic and problems with parking that will only be made worse.”

When planning permission was first sought for the site it was greeted with anger by traders, already competing with a Co-op and Iceland along Goring Road.

But Colin Butcher, owner of Goring Hardware, welcomed the supermarket. He said: “It will bring more people to the area and I don’t think it will really affect that many of us. They are a small supermarket so they are not going to be selling the DIY stuff I offer. It just brings competition."

The store is Tesco’s ninth site in Worthing, including nearby Goring Way and a large Tesco Extra store at Durrington.

More than 150 people applied for the 25 full and part-time jobs being offered.

A Tesco spokesman said: “Tesco is a responsible retailer of alcohol and we operate a strict ‘Think 25’ sales policy.”

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