Police 'may as well have made the protesters a cup of tea' trends now
A scaffolder who was tackled in the street by police after he attempted to clear eco-protesters out of the road has said officers might as well have been making demonstrators 'a cup of tea'.
Louis Grieves, 21, was already an hour late for work when he came across the protesters on Blackfriars Bridge in London on Tuesday.
Frustrated that they were holding up his van, the self-employed construction worker jumped out of his vehicle to intervene.
Video shows him ripping banners from the hands of Just Stop Oil supporters and pulling protesters out of the road before he is aggressively tackled by police officers.
Mr Grieves, from Bromley, said the officers had not apologised to him for the 'heavy-handed' treatment. He was held on suspicion of breach of the peace but was later told that he faced no further action.
Louis Grieves, 21, was already an hour late for work when he came across the protesters on Blackfriars Bridge in London on Tuesday
Louis Grieves, 21, was seen ripping banners from the hands of Just Stop Oil protesters on Blackfriars Bridge on Tuesday morning
Just Stop Oil said 'tensions have been high' as Louis Grieves, 21, tried to throw a supporter on to the ground and was later handcuffed
He told The Sun that the police officers might as well have been making the protesters a cup of tea.
'I was trying to bring peace, if anything, by getting them out of the way. People were at the end of their tether and I had to step in.
'They didn't even say sorry. I think they should apologise to the whole of London for not doing their jobs.
'I don't see how we can trust the police to protect us when they can't stop 20 angry sign-holding vegans from stopping traffic.'
Footage of the protest shows workers from a waste management firm blowing their van's horn in frustration with the 45 protesters, who are walking very slowly across the bridge.
Mr Grieves can then be seen clambering out of his van to confront the demonstrators.
He hauls one out of the road onto the pavement, where the protester falls to the floor, before he tackles another taller man.
But before he can push the second demonstrator out of the street, two police officers swoop in and grapple
