While greengrocers, butchers and bakers were once the main victims of supermarkets encroaching on to their patch, other small retailers are also feeling the pinch.

Years ago, supermarkets stuck largely to food. Now they sell everything from microwave ovens and clothes to CDs and books, wreaking havoc on firms which simply cannot compete on price.

The ever-increasing number of Tesco stores is nowhere more acutely felt than in Hove. The chain has six outlets there, including its superstore in Church Road, another store in Palmeira Square, Express branches in Dyke Road, The Driveway and Denmark Villas and a Metro store in Station Road, Portslade.

The company has now applied to Brighton and Hove City Council to extend its premises in Church Road with a canopy and car wash.

Shop owners in the area have complained that the superstore is already stealing their customers and the venture will only make matters worse.

Ken Stevens, regional organiser of the Federation of Small Businesses in East Sussex, Brighton and Hove, said big supermarkets should make an effort to help small businesses rather than kill their trade.

He said: "I expect the proliferation of charity shops in various areas because they are almost the only outlets that can compete with Tesco.

"I can't see Tesco introducing a charity line of goods.

"We don't see enough co-operation from big supermakets. They just ride roughshod over local traders and the council, which should negotiate for benefits to the local community.

"Sometimes, the setting of big supermarkets can regenerate certain areas by bringing people to the area.

"But where they build big superstores and start selling everything cheaper, that can be very damaging."

Julian Pelling, the owner of Fine Records, in George Street, says there is no way he can compete head-on with Tesco.

His shop offers more individual recordings and can give customers expert knowledge on the latest sounds.

Mr Pelling said: "Tesco bulk buys from manufacturers so they get hold of huge discounts, which enables them to sell the very popular CDs at incredibly low prices, almost the equivalent of what it costs me to buy from the manufacturers.

"I stock the things Tesco doesn't stock. That does mean I don't get the volume of sales like in the old days when I could sell the popular stuff but I keep going by selling the more unusual items.

"Mass selling items used to be the icing on the cake but there's not much of that anymore. Takings are down but overheads keep going up. That is why gradually we are all being squeezed out of business."

Paul Cottingham, who ran the former Cullens in Church Street for 13 years, transformed it into an independent store and changed the name to Cottingham's of Hove as part of a revamp to keep the store competitive.

He said his sales dropped by a third overnight when the Church Road superstore opened two years ago.

Mr Cottingham said: "That was quite overwhelming. A lot of my customers were walking past my store to Tesco. We had to take drastic action to reduce staffing levels and other costs to keep business moving.

"It wasn't until we went independent seven months later things started to turn around. I also introduced newspapers and magazines, and services such as phone top-up cards to bring new people into the store and replace the lost custom.

"Tesco had a stigma 15 years ago when you wouldn't be seen dead shopping there. Now they have created a fashion for shopping in their stores and a perception that they provide a good service, even though small shops provide a much more personal service."

Tesco now takes £1 of every £8 spent by UK shoppers and almost a third of all groceries are now bought in its stores.

Brighton is also beginning to feel the impact of the store chain. There is concern among independent traders in the North Laine, Brighton, over the Tesco Express earmarked for the Jubilee Street development.

Business leaders also fear Tesco's planned expansion of its Holmbush superstore in Shoreham by a third next year will kill trade in Southwick, Shoreham and Lancing town centres. The store wants to dedicate more room to clothing, electrical and leisure goods and will create a caf to compete with neighbouring Marks and Spencer and McDonald's.

The company also caused a storm of protest when it ripped original brass window frames out of its Express store in Palmeira Square. Brighton and Hove City Council threatened legal action and Tesco agreed to install frames more in keeping with the originals.

It is this seemingly apathetic attitude towards the community that angers so many residents.

Christopher Hawtree, of Westbourne Gardens, Hove, said the Church Road superstore was a waste of space as there was room for an underground car park with seven or eight levels underneath the store.

He said: "That store is a blot on the neighbourhood. It's very difficult to take seriously the council's concerns with modern architecture when it grants permission for this MFI job.

"Tesco is rampaging through Hove like Attila The Hun. Tesco is also ruining things around the world. Onions have been flown in from other countries even when they are in season in England. We don't have harvests anymore because you can buy strawberries in February.

"The big supermarkets call it choice but that is a spurious word.

"That choice comes at a cost when you consider the amount of air pollution caused by transporting these goods around the world. Tesco is trying to make everything uniform. That makes for a uniform life."

A spokesman for Tesco said that new products or services such as car washes are introduced purely in response to existing customers' needs.

He said: "We don't get a huge increase in the number of customers after introducing new services. What we find is our existing customers get more satisfaction from shopping at Tesco. I would expect that any impact on local businesses will be quite minimal.

"Everything that Tesco does is driven by customers. We are good at what we do because we listen to customers. That's what makes us successful.

"We believe we are part of the communities in which we trade. Almost everyone working in the stores in Hove are local people. We offer good pay and benefits.

"We also support the community with our vouchers for computers and sports kits schemes, as well as local charity events and Race For Life."