Busker, Frank Williams, can stay in his dome tent at Garnier Road, Winchester, for at least another six weeks while the city council's legal team gets its act together.

The reprieve comes after a district judge gave the council's representatives a ticking off for failing to provide comprehensive evidence to prove its ownership of the land where 54-year-old Mr Williams has lived for the last 12 years.

At Tuesday's county court hearing, the city council, which is seeking a possession order, presented Judge Nicholas Murphy with the original 1930 and 1968 deeds, showing that it did, indeed, own some of the land.

The court was also told that city council estates officer, Brian Bottriell, would be prepared to testify that the land belonged to the council.

However, that was not good enough for Judge Murphy, who adjourned the hearing, saying he wanted to see precisely which land the council owned and which bits had been sold off to the railway.

"With all due respect to Mr Bottriell, he is a surveyor and it may be his duty to look at documents and compare them with town maps of the land, but surely the proper thing to do is to call someone in to identify each of these memoranda by deed and say that belongs to such-and-such and mark it on a plan so that it can then be explained for my consideration," he said.

"All I have is Mr Bottriell's statement saying: 'I am satisfied.' It is not for him to be satisfied. He is a witness of fact. It is for me to be satisfied about the entitlement."

After the hearing, Mr Williams said: "It's another six weeks of hanging onto the place. If I do have to move, at least the weather will be a bit better."

Supporting him at the hearing was self-styled "King Arthur" Pendragon, Druid and eco-warrior, who campaigned against the M3 at Twyford Down and the park and ride extension and who is standing as an Independent candidate for Winchester at the General Election.

Outside the court, he said: "It was a verdict for common sense. That particular judge decided the case needed more scrutiny and I believe he thought the local council was very arrogant in its attitude."

After the hearing, Ian Tait, Mr Williams's ward councillor, said: "I am appalled that the council has taken it this far. It is an atrocious waste of the taxpayers' money."