Extinction Rebellion protesters arrested after gluing themselves to pink bathtub on motorway

Extinction Rebellion protesters caused traffic chaos in Bristol today after gluing themselves to a pink bathtub on a busy motorway junction.

Avon and Somerset Police said they have arrested 16 people after protesters “crossed the line” by blocking traffic and causing disruption to the public.

It comes as Extinction Rebellion stages days of “Summer Uprising” protests across five UK cities - Bristol, London, Glasgow, Leeds and Cardiff.

Video footage tweeted by Extinction Rebellion Bristol showed police surrounding a pink bathtub while unknown demonstrators sat inside.

Officers placed a gazebo over the tub to cordon off the scene while they tried to remove the 11 protesters, who were obstructing the M32 junction of Newfoundland Road.

Another five protesters had locked to themselves to the bathtub using tubes, an Avon and Somerset Police spokesman said.

The spokesman confirmed that officers had to detach the protesters before their arrests, bringing in a “specialist protest removal team” to assist.

They were part of a group of 30 protesters, who initially stopped the traffic in Newfoundland Road before moving to block the M32 inbound at around 6.50am on Wednesday, police said.

Motorists using the M32 have been advised to expect delays and are warned that additional protest activity is expected in other streets in the city centre until Friday, the spokesman said.

Ch Insp Mark Runacres said: “Throughout the protest we’ve been balancing our duties under the Human Rights Act to allow peaceful protests to take place while balancing that with the need to reduce the amount of disruption to the public and keep people safe.

“The action taken by some of the protestors this morning has crossed the line and is a situation we can no longer accept.

“We were clear that we would take robust action to maintain public safety and that’s what we’re doing. We will continue to work with our partner agencies to monitor protest activity and will take further action if necessary.”