Environmental protestors blocking the UK’s busiest motorway were given a bizarre bagpipe performance by a road user held up by the blockage.
A video, posted on Twitter, showed a Scottish motorist who got out of his vehicle after being held up by Insulate Britain protestors and began to loudly play the bagpipes while kneeling in front of them next to one protestor’s ear.
The unnamed bagpiper was quickly moved away by police at the scene.
The footage was shot by Sky News correspondent Ivor Bennett. Approaching the camera, the man said: “They’re holding up ambulances, fire trucks.”
He then turned to address the protestors and said: “You’re damaging your cause.
“What I was doing, obnoxiously, by piping in your face, is what you’re doing to all this traffic.
“You’re obnoxiously holding up people’s lives, but you’re damaging your cause guys.”
Insulate Britain began protesting on September 13 and are demanding that the UK government insulate all social housing in the UK by 2025 and retrofit all homes with insulation by 2030.
In an utterly bizarre development, one motorist just started playing bagpipes in protestors' faces before police moved him off#InsulateBritain pic.twitter.com/S0qJ50if3V
— Ivor Bennett (@IvorBennett) October 27, 2021
Twitter users criticised the police for moving the Scot on, but not the protestors who have been blocking the road.
One user, Henry Jameson said: “Playing the bagpipes is deemed more of a nuisance to the public than gluing yourself to the floor of a busy road and blocking all traffic.”
Another, named Muriel Gray added: “The police moved this piper chap on for 'obnoxiously playing the bagpipes in the protestor's face'. Well excuse me! Up here we pay good money for that kind of excellent entertainment.”
A statement from Insulate Britain today said: “Insulate Britain will return to the roads at the earliest opportunity to continue our campaign of nonviolent civil resistance until Boris Johnson gets on with the job of protecting the people of this country.”
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