A Dumbarton pet shop owner has vowed to battle on when a new Pets At Home store opens in the Scottish town.

Joe Graham, of Ryan’s Pet Centre, said he hopes the loyalty of his customers will keep his business thriving.

Pets At Home submitted an application in November to change the use of the old General George Carpets in St James Retail Park to a pet store with treatment facilities. But the change-of-use application was not required and the firm started advertising vacancies.

Joe, who took over Ryan’s Pet Centre in June, said at the time he feared for the future of his shop if the pet food giants moved to the town, but now has vowed to fight on in the face of such massive competition.

“I think it was inevitable that it was going to go ahead, we just have to accept it, it’s just unfortunate they have decided to move to Dumbarton," he said.

“The High Street isn’t exactly thriving at the moment, surely it would be better for people to come here rather than big nationals arriving and squeezing everyone else out.”

“Obviously for a lot of people money is really, really tight and a trip to Pets At Home after they’ve been at Asda will be a better option.

"Hopefully we’ll still be able to hold onto our customers who have enough money to still take the trip to the town centre and maybe spend a bit more because they’ve always shopped here.”