Oxford University has started 2010 with a series of heavy-handed clampdowns – not only against its own students but also the people of Cambridge.

Students at The Other Place were stunned to return from holiday to find out that the University Computing Service (OUCS) had implemented a uni-wide ban on the use of Spotify.

Spotify, used by over two million music-lovers in the UK, has been blamed for crippling the Oxford network and hampering academic research. It joins Skype and World of Warcraft on the list of explicitly black-listed apps.

Oxford students have been outraged by the decision. "I was shocked when I realised there was a total ban," said fresher Finola Holyoak.

It has also prompted fears that many students will now turn to illegal sources to get their music fix.

Techies behind the software giant have reacted defensively. "We're talking to the university about how we can help them give the music back to their students" said a spokesperson for Spotify.

The decision comes as it emerges that Oxford officials have been meddling with the mud in our own backyard.

A row has broken out between villagers of Southoe, near Cambridge, over permission to grow vegetables.

Allotment campaigners have been startled by the outright refusal of Oxford University to allow green-fingered residents to turn a strip of barren scrubland into a fruitful vegetable patch.

Reacting angrily to the decision, John Finn of the Allotments Association told The Tab that "people around the village are annoyed at Oxford University. They should stay in Oxford!"

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