A SHOP selling porn films and magazines is set to open in the heart of Southampton's city centre in days.

Private Lines will open its doors to customers in Northern Above Bar, yards from the Southampton Institute building and opposite the old Tyrrell & Green shop, on Monday.

The business, which is owned by Private, a company running a chain of similar shops across the country, does not have a licence to sell hard-core, restricted 18-category, pornography.

Traders fear the shop will drag the area downmarket and clash with plans to turn it into an arts quarter.

Lloyd Phillips, owner of the nearby body- piercing shop Lucid, said: "This is a bad place for it. This is going to bring the area down."

Gosia Gray, owner of Tiddly Oggies pasty shop several doors down from Private Lines, said: "This should be in a back street, not in front of youngsters. It doesn't bother me as a person but as a trader I think it is not the best place. It is not going to help trade in any way."

Subway sandwich shop owner Casey Baldwin agreed.

He said: "I have no problem with that type of business, I just don't think this is the right part of town. If the council was hoping for this area to be a caf/leisure part of town then the sex shop doesn't really fit in."

A spokesman for the company denied it was a sex shop. He said: "It is not a sex shop, no more than Ann Summers is anyway. It's an adult-orientated premises, just more for men.

"I think anything that brings business into the area must be a good thing. This is no longer the centre of Southampton and this is a suitable place to open."

The city council said it was powerless to prevent the shop opening but would investigate formal complaints.

A council spokesman said: "The council has no planning powers to prevent a retailer opening a shop on premises designated for that purpose. The conduct of the business and the goods offered are covered by a range of legislation - some of which is enforceable by the local authority and some by the police. A formal complaint to the council will be investigated or passed to the appropriate authority."