An Oxford video shop owner says he is on the brink of closure because of high rent and rates.

There has been a video shop in The Square, Botley, for 25 years, but now customers may lose it because owner Jo Spasic says the rent is unfair.

Mr Spasic, 51, bought the shop in 2003, but said paying £25,000 a year in rent and £7,000 in rates is running his business into the ground.

Mr Spasic, who lives above the shop, said: "The industry is being attacked from all sides - piracy, the Internet - and the council obviously thinks there is a demand for it because they rent out DVDs in the library.

"I have 3,800 and the library only has 300, but they are stealing my business.

"I didn't buy the shop to become a millionnaire. It was just semi-retirement.

"I have 1,600 customers a week and I think the community is going to be poorer for having one less entertainment option.

"I am going to lose my house, my home and £85,000 I put into it three years ago. The people of Botley will lose a video shop they have had here for 25 years."

He said other shops in The Square were suffering as well. According to one shop owner, business rents in some parts of Oxford city centre are less than half those in the Botley precinct. A 400sq ft property in the Covered Market can be rented for about £10,000 a year.

A spokesman for the Vale of White Horse District Council said: "Rental values for the West Way centre in Botley are based on current market values and recent settlements with other traders within the centre.

"The shopping centre is out as an investment for the council and therefore must be operated commercially in order to generate the best return."

The spokesman added that there were currently no empty shops.

But Mr Spasic said the business next door to him had only opened in the summer. Before that, the shop was empty for 18 months.

Shops in other areas of Oxford, such as Cowley Road, have been hit by similar difficulties but with help from the community, business has picked up.

But Mr Spasic does not think that time is on his side. "You expect a private landlord to treat you in this oppressive manner, but when your landlord is the council, you expect better."