two police officers are in hospital
after hundreds of protesters clashed
with police in bristol
thousands had turned up at a rally
against the police and crime bill
which includes plans to give officers
more powers to control demonstrations
avon and somerset police tonight
condemned what they called disgraceful
scenes
and had to call on neighboring forces
for help the home secretary says the
violence is unacceptable thuggery
and disorder our correspondent andrew
plant is in bristol tonight and centers
this report
in a protest against new police powers
it was soon police themselves who became
the target
vans and a police car set on fire
fireworks thrown into the crowd
at around a thousand protesters gathered
in bristol city centre
in what has been police say the worst
violence the city has seen
in years there's a royal police blocking
off what is the
central police station here in bristol
but you can see
at the end of the road they've also
blocked off now the end of this
city center street but also the side
roads too and they're doing it
from behind but there's still about a
thousand people in here and now they're
being left with nowhere to go
protesters here holding banners
concerned they say that the uk
is becoming a police state the kill the
bill march started in the early
afternoon
but as night fell the clashes began
projectiles thrown at officers in riot
gear
we saw several people with head injuries
being helped from the crowd
i think it's horrible and i agree with
the cause of the protesters
but i think this is gonna do anybody any
good
several officers have been injured some
reported to have broken bones
the chair of the avon and somerset
police federation said people's right to
protest had been hijacked
by protesters hell-bent on violence
well the crowd hasn't grown much but it
hasn't got much smaller either you can
see police still blocking the end of the
road there and they're still defending
this central police station here in
bristol
but they've opened up the back road so
people can start to move away but at the
moment
it doesn't seem clear exactly how the
situation of bristol
is going to end andrew thank you for
that andrew plant there live
in bristol with the very latest