Graffiti artist in standoff on Bolte Bridge after dangerous stunt

Police in Melbourne are stuck in a standoff with a man on top of a major inner-city bridge after a dangerous graffiti stunt.

Emergency services were called to the Bolte Bridge at 3am on Tuesday over reports a graffiti artist had climbed up one of the bridge’s 120m-high pillars.

Police allege the man abseiled down the pillar and painted a giant Pam the Bird tag, which has been illegally painted on Melbourne landmarks for years, often in hard to reach places and on heritage-listed buildings.

A police spokesperson said they were negotiating with the man to get him down safely.

“He is refusing to follow police direction and come down,” the spokesperson said.

“There are a significant number of police resources in the area including uniform members and water police units.”

They said there was no threat to the public or road users and one lane of the bridge is closed.

An Instagram page, @pambirdofficial, has shared videos appearing to be from the top of the pillar on Tuesday with the hashtag #notcomingdown.

In one video, a caption says: “Lower the taxes and drone me some f---en food! Let’s go boys and girls!”

In the same video, a man’s voice says: “I’m not coming down until they lower the taxes. Fucking sick of paying that shit.”

Another video shows feet dangling off the tower and zooms in on a large police presence down below before the man “flips the bird” to officers down below. Later, he added a request for a blanket.

It is not yet known who the man on the Bolte Bridge is.

The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, told the ABC “I think the system is handling the matter as it should … I think it’s appropriate that the legal process takes its course”.