Birmingham city centre gridlock as man threatens to jump

Drivers in Birmingham faced major delays again this morning after part of the city centre was cordoned off because a man was standing on railings on a bridge.

Police were called to the scene at Paradise Bridge by the library yesterday afternoon and sealed off the area.

Paradise Circus and Queensway Tunnel at Newhall Street were closed and traffic built up in the surrounding streets.

It is thought the man had moved away from the railings but was still at the scene and cordons remained in place this morning.

Paradise Forum was shut to the public, West Midlands Police said.

Hostage and crisis negotiators were sent to the scene and food was taken to the man by officers.

Crowds of people gathered by the police cordons.

Office worker Natalie Baker, 27, of Dudley Road, Smethwick, saw her journey to New Street station extended by 45 minutes.

She said: "There is traffic chaos. It was crawling all the way.

"The same incident affected my journey home last night. I assumed it would all be finished by this morning so I couldn't believe it was still going on today.

"People are a bit fed up about the delays. There hasn't been much information about what is going on."

Chief inspector Sean Russell from Birmingham Central police station said this morning: "We fully appreciate the disruption and inconvenience this has caused to commuters and we ask them for their continuing patience and understanding as we enter a second day of this incident.

"There will inevitably be significant disruption to traffic during rush hour, but we ask that people try and avoid the area around Paradise Circus if at all possible and possibly consider using public transport."

Roads closed are: Paradise Circus from Great Charles Street Queensway and Queensway Tunnel at Newhall Street. In addition, Paradise Forum is closed to pedestrians.