Police in stand-off drama as Italian scales Hull statue

The 42-year-old shinned up the 20ft column which forms the base of a statue for Queen Victoria at 5.30am today.

Despite efforts to coax him down, he was still there 11 hours later, with the spectacle attracting a large crowd.

At one point the man shouted out that people were trying to kill him.

At times he appeared to be enjoying the drama - waving to people, who waved back at him.

A large police presence was scaled down and firefighters asked to leave as the morning wore on in an attempt to defuse the situation.

However the cordon had to be reintroduced later in the afternoon after people started throwing objects at him. Earlier a man was arrested after trying to climb up the statue.

A police spokesman said the area was cordoned off again "for his own protection."