Peckham arrestee freed after protesters block Met van

An image given out by protestor Eleanor Janega shows members of the public gathered around a police van

A man arrested for immigration offences was released after protesters prevented the van he was held in from moving for hours.

Footage shot in Peckham, south-east London, on Saturday showed a crowd sitting on the ground in front of the vehicle and members of the public shouting "Let him go".

It is understood the man is Nigerian and was suspected of overstaying his visa.

He was released on immigration bail.

Officers were called to Evan Cook Close shortly after 13:30 BST "to a report of protesters obstructing immigration officers", Met Police said.

"Peaceful protest is powerful"

One of the protesters, Eleanor Janega, said people had heard of an "immigration raid" and came to demonstrate.

"We had been sitting here blocking the van and having ice lollies. They brought more police in and tried to break through the crowd by pushing us. We all sat down."

Labour councillor Reginald Popoola said people had "encircled the van peacefully", but claimed some people were shoved during the demonstration.

"He's being released, peaceful protest is powerful."

An image provided by Reginald Popoola appears to show protesters clapping as the man is released

A woman who gave her name only as Nicola - who is an activist with Stand Up To Racism - said police "gave up" trying to arrest people at the scene.

"Police tried to arrest a number of activists at the front, but they were held on to by others who were also sitting down and the police gave up," she said.

"Finally, after a lot of protest, the police announced that they were going to release him and it took about half an hour for them to actually open the doors."

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said: "Preventing immigration enforcement teams from doing their job is unacceptable.

"Blocking or obstructing them will not deter them from undertaking the duties that the public rightly expect them to carry out."

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