by Graham Tutthill

Supermarket giant Asda may come to Dover after all - but not with a new store as previously planned.

The company has announced plans to buy the UK stores of Danish discount retailer Netto for £778m.

Asda pulled out of the Dover Town Investment Zone development earlier this year but a company spokesman told the Mercury at the time that they still wanted to invest in Dover.

Now, it appears Asda could take over all of Netto's 193 stores in the UK, including the one at Charlton Green, Dover, right next to the new Morrison's supermarket which opened in January.

The bid for Netto is subject to approval from the Office of Fair Trading, but the deal could be finalised in the summer.

"Customers will benefit from low prices on a significantly broader range of quality products, complemented by the wide range of services we offer in all our smaller stores," said Asda chief executive Andy Clarke.