You couldn't make it up!

A nice one to add to our collection comes from Essex where (puzzlingly) three or four houses were built many years ago behind land belonging to the local authority, so that the only access to the properties was over this council land.  There has been no problem up until now because the council leased the land back to the residents, but now - presumably as a result of the council's need to find what money they can in today's straightened times - the council has put the land up for sale by auction, and the residents have been outbid by some unknown buyer.  Which means of course that now the residents have to commit potential trespass in order to access their properties.  The council seem to be washing their hands of the whole business, so the residents now just have to hope that the new owner of the land is reasonable and they can come to some acceptable accommodation with whoever it is.  Another fine mess, as Oliver Hardy might say.