The owner of a toy store which has been trading in Barrow for 50 years has vowed to fight his firm’s future ahead of the opening rival shop over the road.

The UK's biggest independent toy retailer, The Entertainer, has revealed it will open up a store in Barrow in the former Argos in Dalton Road on Saturday July 8.

The news has come as a disappointment for Phil Heath, whose toy store Heaths, set up by his father Joe 50 years ago, is just yards away.

"I have been expecting it in a way, because The Entertainer is a growing chain," the 62-year-old retailer said.

"It will be a challenge, obviously, but we have seen other national chains come in and we have survived.

"We will have to adapt what we do. One of the reasons we have managed to survive for so long is because we have adapted to the changing retail environment."

Heaths has occupied its premises in Dalton Road since it was founded and for the last 25 years has also occupied a shop in Harrison Street. The firm employs around eight people.

In the last decade, Mr Heath has attempted to shift his focus onto expanding areas, such as the delivery of office supplies. With the arrival of The Entertainer, which is creating nine jobs, he is anticipating a further shift in focus but is positive in his outlook.

"It might be good for the town centre in that it might serve to encourage other retailers to come in," he said.

"The industry is growing and changing rapidly, and one more retailer in the town centre means more shoppers and a greater likelihood of empty units being taken up.

"It will be a very challenging thing for us but we have survived before and we will again."

Husband and wife team Gary and Catherine Grant founded The Entertainer in 1981 when they opened a toy shop in Buckinghamshire.

More than 900 people work in the company's stores across the UK, which include shops in Workington and Carlisle, and a further 100 are based at the head office.