SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has been persuaded by a Wirral bookshop to promote its business.

Independent book store Lingham’s, in Heswall, is located just across the road from the supermarket and has faced stiff competition from the corporate giant, particularly over sales of best-selling titles.

Partly out of frustration, Lingham’s manager Eleanor Davies wrote to the chief executive of Tesco, Sir Terry Leahy, suggesting that the store could allow them to advertise their products.

Mrs Davies said the idea came after seeing an interview with Sir Terry in which he admitted a certain amount of guilt over the threat his supermarket chain posed to smaller shops.

Mrs Davies said: “I just sent an email and said to him ‘put your money where your mouth is.’

“We are constantly having problems being undercut by Tesco. They sell some mainstream books far cheaper than we ever could.

“But we’re not just a shop – we have poetry evenings, book clubs and readings from authors.”

In her email to Sir Terry, she said: “In Tesco over the road, a lot of the books we sell are going for substantially less than half the RRP. We cannot begin to compete with this.

“The books stocked in Tesco are always on the best-seller list and I realise you have to make a profit just as we do. However – and here is my suggestion – there are plenty of books we stock which you would never have on your shelves. So I would like to suggest that, in order to show that you don't want to decimate local businesses, why don't you allow us to advertise above the books you are selling?”