THE COST of Brent Council's fight against library campaigners has doubled in just three months.
The authority's legal costs have rocketed from s70,532 in September to more than s150,000, after it took on the Brent SOS library campaign group all the way to the Court of Appeal.
The figures have been uncovered by Sagar Shah, 31, who is setting up his own watch dog organisation called Brent Watch.
Mr Shah, of Preston Road, submitted a Freedom of Information request to the council to find out how much has been spent to date.
The Brent Liberal Democrats have confirmed the exact figure to be s154,837.
Mr Shah has described the figures as a 'terrible waste of public funds' as the council has battled hundreds of campaigners who want to see 50 per cent of the borough's libraries under threat, re-opened for good.
Campaigners now await the result of a High Court hearing, which is expected to arrive before Christmas.
Samantha Warrington from the Brent SOS campaign, said: "It is shocking that Brent Council takes such a cavalier attitude to spending taxpayers' money instead of seeking cost-effective and collaborative ways to continue to provide vital services such as libraries."