Protest pair removed from rooftop in Birmingham after 34 hours
The pair remain in police custody
West Midlands Police has arrested a man and woman who scaled the roof of a Birmingham business during a 34-hour protest – and allegedly caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.
The pair gained access to the building in Kitts Green Road at 5am yesterday (14 June) and made their way onto the roof.
It’s understood a sledgehammer and golf clubs were used to smash windows and skylights, while paint was thrown across the walls and in offices.
West Midlands Police released a statement, saying:
The area was cordoned off by officers to ensure passers-by and vehicles were not in danger and a police negotiator was called in, in a bid to bring the incident to a safe conclusion.
However, the pair refused to co-operate and at 3.30pm a specialist police protest removal team – which is specially trained to work at heights – moved in to make arrests.
A woman aged 26 from Burton-on-Trent and man who has so far refused to provide details have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, aggravated trespass and a public order offence.
Superintendent Jack Hadley managed our response to the protest. He said:
“We will always try to accommodate people’s right to peaceful protest – but what happened here was not peaceful. It was illegal and has caused considerable damage and inconvenience.
“This was a very complex operation with lots of police resources dedicated to bringing it to a safe conclusion…everyone involved can be rightly proud of the professional way the situation was managed.
“Other people gathered in the street in support of the protestors and at one point forced their way through a cordon; police dog handlers were on scene for a visible deterrence and to control the crowd.”
The two arrested remain in police custody.
Hear all the latest news from across the West Midlands on the hour, every hour, on 103.1 and 97.2FM (Wolverhampton, Black Country and Shropshire), 96.4FM (Birmingham), 97 and 102.9FM (Coventry and Warwickshire), 97.6FM, 102.8FM and 96.7FM (Herefordshire and Worcestershire), DAB, at freeradio.co.uk, and on the Free Radio app.