Protester carrying dog scales clock tower at King’s Cross station

A protester who was clutching a dog on top of the clock tower at King’s Cross train station in London was brought down after a stand-off spanning nearly four hours.

The demonstrator, sitting near a banner that read “Iran belongs to its people” and wearing a black t-shirt emblazoned with the words “no to war”, scaled the structure at around 8am on Tuesday and remained there as of late morning.

Firefighters went up in a cherry picker in an attempt to talk the activist down, eventually persuading him to hand over the dog and allow it to be brought to the ground around three hours into the stand-off.

Onlookers cheered as the animal came safely down.

A spokesman for British Transport Police said: “Officers were called to King’s Cross railway station at around 8am following reports of a person in a precarious position.

“The incident is ongoing and officers are in attendance alongside other emergency services, working to bring the incident to a safe conclusion.”

A cordon was put in place around the tower, where the protester could at times be seen standing up on the ledge where he was perched.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “The Brigade was called at 8.14am to reports of a man on the roof of King’s Cross railway station on Euston Road.

“Two fire engines and around 10 firefighters are currently on scene assisting British Transport Police.”

King’s Cross station in London remains open but passengers have been told to use side entrances as front entrances are closed while emergency services are at the scene where a protester has climbed the clock tower.

A section of the plaza in front of the station remains cordoned off with white barriers.

As the cherry picker was lifted up to the demonstrator again, he began to raise his voice at the crews coming towards him.

After 11am, staff continued to speak to him from the cherry picker as dozens of people watched below.

As rain began to pour in central London, the protester packed his banner away. He spoke to mediators and was brought down by cherry picker at 11.50am, bringing the stand-off to an end after nearly four hours.