THOUSANDS of Winchester tenants have been hit with an inflation-busting rent rise.

City council housing officers recommended that councillors push ahead with plans for a 4.2 per cent rise in rents from April 2013 – that means an average increase of £4.12 a week.

Housing leaders insisted the hike was in accordance with the city’s 30-year business plan, which proposes an annual increase of inflation plus 0.5 per cent.