Updated ,first published
Police are in an hours-long stand-off at the Bolte Bridge after a man climbed one of its concrete pillars and spray-painted a giant Pam the Bird-style graffiti tag onto it.
The young man, clad head-to-toe in black, climbed up one of the concrete pillars flanking the bridge about 3am on Tuesday and spray-painted a giant Pam the Bird-style graffiti tag onto it.
In the most recent video shared to an Instagram account on Tuesday morning, the man said: “I’ll be down at 12pm peacefully. Just waiting for the tide to get a little bit lower.” But police told this masthead that it is not a process they have initiated.
In earlier videos, the man appeared to be atop the bridge’s eastern concrete stack, looking down on several emergency vehicles and the road.
“I’m not coming down until they lower the taxes,” he says, his voice raised and shaking. “I’m f—ing sick of paying that s—.”
When asked by this masthead which taxes he meant, the account that posted the videos simply replied, “All of them”.
One inbound lane is closed as authorities try to get him down, with a significant number of police, including water units, in the area. Officers believe the man has been up there since about 3am.
Another video shows the man gleefully swinging his feet up and down while sitting on the pillar, soundtracked by Lesley Gore’s Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows.
In later videos, the trespasser wrote, “Might have a quick nap” and “Wouldn’t mind a blankey, it’s kind of cold”. Shortly after 8am, he posted another video from the top of the stack, saying: “I want a peanut butter and jam sandwich and a glass of milk or I’m not coming down.”
The intruder has reportedly asked people to send him a sandwich via drone. In an update posted shortly after 9am, the man, who has brown eyes and a yellow flower-like symbol on his balaclava, declared he was still “patiently” waiting for the sandwich, holding his phone with one hand and flashing a peace sign with the other.
The Instagram account has gained 8000 followers in the several hours it has been active.
Negotiations have stretched for hours as the intruder refuses to come down. Police say there is no threat to the public or road users, and also asked people to stop flying drones near the area.
“As you can imagine, this is a complex and dynamic situation and the safety of the man atop the bridge tower and our attending members is paramount,” an update from police said.
It is understood that the man gained access at the base of the pillar, where a platform leading to a door and staircase can be seen.
The man accused of being behind the original Pam the Bird graffiti is awaiting trial on more than 200 charges that he caused $700,000 of damage by vandalising property across Melbourne.
Jack Gibson-Burrell has pleaded not guilty and is on bail with conditions including that he lives in Geelong with his grandmother, comply with a nightly curfew and not possess abseiling or graffiti-related items. The identity of the Bolte Bridge intruder is unknown.
The mercury dropped to four degrees on Tuesday morning as fog smothered the top of the bridge’s 140-metre-high concrete pillars.
Police spokeswoman Katherine McLeod also told 3AW: “A bird has been graffitied on the bridge, and that person is not coming down. We’re doing our best to get him down.”
The left lane of the Bolte Bridge inbound to Melbourne and the West Gate Freeway remains closed, with speed in the remaining three lanes reduced to 40km/h, according to VicTraffic. A Department of Transport spokesperson said there were minor delays of about five minutes.
More to come.
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