PENSIONER Arthur Holt's routine trip to the dry cleaners turned into a nightmare that lasted six months and ended up in court.

Mr Holt, 65, of Hardens Mead, Chippenham, took a duvet to be cleaned at West County Cleaners in the town's High Street on October 19, 2002.

After paying the £11.95 dry cleaning fee, he was told to return four days later. But when he did so, he was told the duvet was at the sister store in Calne.

Advised to return a week later, he did so, but was again told that the quilt was not ready and that he should phone the company's clerk, a Mr Stafford.

But Mr Holt said his calls were ignored. During the next few months, Mr Holt wrote letters and made countless phone calls to reach Mr Stafford, without success.

In December, still without his quilt, the cold weather drove Mr Holt to buy a new one and in desperation, he consulted Wiltshire County Council's trading standards department.

"Trading standards advised me to take Pushstore Ltd, the company which owns West County Dry Cleaners to the small claims Court," he said.

Pushstore Ltd, which owns West County Cleaners branches in Chippenham, Malmesbury, Calne, Corsham, Trowbridge and Warminster.

Mr Holt added: "I just couldn't believe that something so simple as a trip to the dry cleaners was going to end up in the courts. But I was angry and felt it had become a matter of principle, so I went ahead and made a claim."

After proceedings started Mr Holt received a call from Mr Stafford asking him to go into the Chippenham store and look at a number of quilts, which had no identification.

But Mr Holt refused, saying the matter was in the hands of the courts.

On March 31, five months after he had first taken his quilt in to be cleaned, the small claims court found in favour of Mr Holt and ordered Pushstore Ltd to pay £92 to cover the cost of Mr Holt's lost duvet and costs.

Two months on, Mr Holt has still not received his money or his lost duvet and a warrant was issued by the small claims court, upping Pushstore Ltd's costs to £122.

"I just cannot comprehend why the company didn't just tell me the duvet had been lost and offer me a refund it should never have come to all this," said Mr Holt."

But Mr Stafford, who has refused to give his first name,maintains he had tried to resolve the situation.

"I invited Mr Holt in to look at four duvets which had no identification, to see if any of them belonged to him," said Mr Stafford. "But he refused and said he was taking it to court.

"We will be appealing against the ruling by the Small Claims Court."