yvette7ica
05 Nov 2003, 09:33 PM
Protest brought traffic chaos to London
By Chris Slocombe
LONDON (Reuters) - A father dressed as his daughter's hero Spiderman has turned villain for thousands of London's motorists after barricading himself in a crane overlooking Tower Bridge.
Police closed one of the capital's main road arteries to seal off the area around the crane, home to a 36-year old man's protest over the enforcement of father's rights to see their children.
Late on Tuesday they reversed the decision, saying they were satisfied that he had no intention of throwing missiles or jumping off the crane.
David Chick's stunt has inspired sympathy from some Londoners but many are calling for an end to his protest, which entered its sixth day on Wednesday.
"The man is acting like an absolute prat. Londoners are turning against him," said Richard Barnes, deputy chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority.
Chick emerged from the crane's cab on Tuesday to punch the air and stroll along the crane's arm.
Barnes said London business had lost 50 million pounds from the disruption and it was costing 10,000 pounds per day for the 34 police and traffic wardens manning the cordons.
Fathers 4 Justice (F4J), a group pressing for fathers to have improved access to their children, have been in contact with Chick via a walkie-talkie and said on Tuesday that Chick was very annoyed that the police had closed off the roads.
Police said that it was too dangerous to remove Chick forcibly but they intend to arrest him.
Chick, who F4J say has not been able to see his two-year-old daughter for over eight months, scaled the crane early on Friday and has resisted attempts to talk him down.
F4J members said they were negotiating with police to get more batteries to Chick so he could use his mobile phone and walkie-talkie again. Chick had taken indoor fireworks up with him and had enough food for at least another week, they added.
One disgruntled commuter said: "He's never going to get to see his daughter now."
Edited to add: Link- http://uk.news.yahoo.com/031105/80/ed3pc.html
By Chris Slocombe
LONDON (Reuters) - A father dressed as his daughter's hero Spiderman has turned villain for thousands of London's motorists after barricading himself in a crane overlooking Tower Bridge.
Police closed one of the capital's main road arteries to seal off the area around the crane, home to a 36-year old man's protest over the enforcement of father's rights to see their children.
Late on Tuesday they reversed the decision, saying they were satisfied that he had no intention of throwing missiles or jumping off the crane.
David Chick's stunt has inspired sympathy from some Londoners but many are calling for an end to his protest, which entered its sixth day on Wednesday.
"The man is acting like an absolute prat. Londoners are turning against him," said Richard Barnes, deputy chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority.
Chick emerged from the crane's cab on Tuesday to punch the air and stroll along the crane's arm.
Barnes said London business had lost 50 million pounds from the disruption and it was costing 10,000 pounds per day for the 34 police and traffic wardens manning the cordons.
Fathers 4 Justice (F4J), a group pressing for fathers to have improved access to their children, have been in contact with Chick via a walkie-talkie and said on Tuesday that Chick was very annoyed that the police had closed off the roads.
Police said that it was too dangerous to remove Chick forcibly but they intend to arrest him.
Chick, who F4J say has not been able to see his two-year-old daughter for over eight months, scaled the crane early on Friday and has resisted attempts to talk him down.
F4J members said they were negotiating with police to get more batteries to Chick so he could use his mobile phone and walkie-talkie again. Chick had taken indoor fireworks up with him and had enough food for at least another week, they added.
One disgruntled commuter said: "He's never going to get to see his daughter now."
Edited to add: Link- http://uk.news.yahoo.com/031105/80/ed3pc.html