A homeless man ended up in sleeping in his van for 21 months because the council failed to help him - and the authority was then told apologise to him and pay him more than £8,000, a report shows.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman publishes an annual review of complaints involving councils. The latest review shows Bristol City Council had 22 complaints upheld against it in 2021/2022, including one where the council was ordered to pay thousands of pounds.
The Ombudsman described the council's failure to provide proper assistance when the complainant - known as "Mr X" - approached as homeless in 2018 as "fault". This failure led to "Mr X" sleeping in a van for 21 months, which negatively affected his mental and physical health.
