Efforts by a maverick cell of bureaucratic loonies in Bristol City Council’s estates department to restrict the communal laundry’s 24 hour opening times at Shire’s Antona Court for no reason look set to end in an expensive disaster for the council.

Antona Court resident, Steve “The Avon Mouth” Norman, The Bristolian‘s gobshite-in-chief and scourge of the council’s housing department took umbrage at access to the laundry he pays to use being arbitrarily restricted without notice or consultation.

So he filed papers with the County Court in Bristol demanding that the council remove their thousands of pounds-worth of unnecessary laundry alterations and compensate him for failing to comply with the Housing Acts governing the council’s management of Antona Court.

Alas, the court’s deadline has now passed and the council has failed to provide a defence to the judge, which means Steve can now apply for a judgement and compensation unchallenged.

Costs to us – thanks to the council’s negligence in how they altered a service they provide and in failing to respond to a judge in time – will run into the thousands we’re told.

So much for austerity.