Canada police in final push against bridge protesters

Police have moved in to clear the remaining protesters blocking a key bridge between Canada and the United States, after days of disruption.

Canada's trucker protests against Covid vaccine certification to cross the border has paralysed trade across the Ambassador bridge in Windsor, Ontario.

A judge issued an order on Friday to break up the protest, but dozens of demonstrators remained in defiance.

After days of warnings, police are now arresting people and towing vehicles.

Moves had been made to clear the demonstration on Saturday morning, and many of the vehicles involved left on police orders.

But as news of the police action spread, more protesters turned up, swelling the crowd.

On Sunday morning, only a few dozen people remained, and police resumed their operation, this time arresting those who refused to leave.

Speaking on Saturday after some of the remaining vehicles had been towed away, Windsor Police's deputy chief or operations, Jason Bellaire, told the BBC that people, not vehicles, were now the problem.

"We need to make it exceedingly clear they're not welcome to stay here, they're not welcome to disrupt our bridge traffic, they're not welcome to disrupt our community," he said.

The protest has inspired others around the world to stage similar action, in a bid to congest city roads and attract attention - such as in France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.