A supermarket sell-off could take place in Pembrokeshire as part of the Co-op’s takeover of Somerfield.

Either Tenby’s Somerfield store or Kilgetty’s Co-op may have to be sold to another food retailer under conditions laid down by the Office of Fair Trading.

The Co-op has been told it will have to offload 126 stores of the 3,000 it will own after the sale, to address competition concerns in local grocery markets.

Although the names of stores affected have not yet been announced, staff at both the Tenby and Kilgetty supermarkets have been briefed about the situation.

A spokesman for The Co-operative Group confirmed that the Tenby area is one of the locations which has been identified by the Office of Fair Trading.

“Somerfield and Co-operative staff in the area have been informed that they may be affected,” she said.

The conflict of locations does not apply in other parts of Pembrokeshire, with Somerfield stores in Pembroke and Fishguard and a Co-op branch in Neyland.

The acquisition by the Co-op will make the company ‘a stronger fifth player’ in the grocery market, added the spokesman.

“This is good news for consumers and good for competition.”

There is no indication from the company whether Tenby’s Somerfield or Kilgetty’s Co-op would be the store which is put on the market, but the sale should not mean job losses, assured shop workers’ union Usdaw.

“The stores must be sold as a going concern, which should not entail any redundancies,” said the union’s national officer, Sharon Ainsworth.