Student protest turns violent as police clash with demonstrators over cuts to grants

The Black Bloc anarchist group is believed to have sparked the violence by throwing signs and letting off flares

Police have clashed with demonstrators in central London as a protest against the Government's plans to axe student grants turned violent.

Chants including "Who’s kettling who?” and “who killed Mark Duggan?” were shouted as police battled with protesters trying to push through a barricade.

Flares were hurled towards police, smoke bombs let off and eggs thrown, Scotland Yard said.

Twelve arrests have been confirmed.

After police tried to kettle demonstrators, the march started making an unplanned move towards Victoria train station - triggering a mad dash by police officers to try and stay ahead of the crowds.

As they ran, protesters chanted: "What do we want? Free education. When do we want it? Now."

Students have been marching through the streets of central London to voice their opposition to George Osborne’s decision to scrap maintenance grans, which they claim will deter poorer youngsters from applying to university and follows the recent trebling of tuition fees by the Coalition.

The march came to a stop outside the Department for Business, where a demonstrator threw a sign at a police officer, which is believed to have sparked the violence, with flares being lit by protesters and police moving in on demonstrators.

By 5pm protesters had made their way to Trafalgar Square.

A student from Bristol told The Independent that it was the Black Bloc anarchist group that was repsonsible for the violence and said it was frustrating that they had given the otherwise peaceful demonstration a bad name by stealing the headlines from the real cause.

The National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts, which organised the protest, estimated that 10,000 students would join the march, but police said the actual figure was closer to 1,000.