A disgruntled man flung roof tiles from the top of his terraced home in a six-hour protest at the government's welfare policies as police attempted to talk him down, it has been reported.
A crowd of neighbours gathered to watch the man strip to his waist, then strip the entire roof of tiles, causing thousands of pounds of damage, with cars below damaged by the cascade from the building in the Wanstead cul-de-sac.
A neighbour told the Evening Standard: “He was shouting and taking tiles off, yelling ‘they stopped my income support, they stopped my housing benefit, how am I supposed to live?’
The man purportedly caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to the roof
“He worked himself up into a bit of a frenzy and started smashing things.
“He was in his 50s or 60s and was wearing a t-shirt that he soon ripped off. He had a hammer and a can of beer.
“A few days ago he was playing music so loud it sounded like a rave in the street. The day before that he had all these strobe lights going, like it was a concert. I think he’d just worked himself up and it built to this.”
A Met Police spokesman told the Daily Mail the man had been sectioned.
“Police were called at 2.45pm to reports of a man throwing objects off the roof of a house. Road closures were put in place," a spokesman said. “Shortly before 9pm the man was arrested and released on bail. He was not taken into custody.”