A lengthy battle to recover outstanding rent debts has been won by Oxford City Council.

Oxford County Court has ordered Mohammed Zafar who leased the former Costcutter supermarket in Pegasus Road, Blackbird Leys, to pay nearly £50,000, plus £10,000 legal costs after failing to pay rent for four years.

Costcutter, a national chain, said the shop no longer traded under its franchise.

The court order comes after a number of shops and businesses in the city centre complained they could be forced to shut because of soaring city council rents.

Bill Baker, the council's executive member for corporate governance, said: "I am very pleased with the outcome of this case, which shows the city's determination to recover debt in the face of persistent refusal to pay.

"This penalises the majority of the city's residents and we will protect them by taking action against those who continually fail to pay their debts.

"The city's legal staff are to be congratulated on seeing this matter through to a successful outcome.

"This case illustrates that robust action will be taken to recover debt."

A spokesman for the council said officers made every attempt to persuade the holder of the lease to carry out obligations under an agreement signed in June 2001.

He said that if the money had not been paid by July 15, further legal action would be taken to get possession of the premises and recover the money owed.

Two other city council commercial tenants are being taken to Oxford County Court later this month for failure to pay rent.

Costcutter spokesman Graham Hey said the trader who joined the Costcutter franchise at the Blackbird Leys supermarket in June 2001 left in October of the same year. He said: "After that point, he should not have been trading under the Costcutter name, and we were not aware that he was."

Mr Hey said staff would be asked to remove Costcutter's sign from above the shop door.

Mr Zafar, 38, was unavailable for comment.