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Fourth ‘Kill The Bill’ protest in Bristol saw hundreds stage peaceful sit down outside police station

HUNDREDS of Kill the Bill protesters marched through Bristol’s streets for the fourth time in 10 days on Tuesday night.

About 300 people gathered on College Green before marching to stage a sit-in outside Bridewell police station.

Police observed as the crowd sat in the street, played music and shouted “Our streets” and “Kill the Bill.”

Avon & Somerset Police Superintendent Mark Edgington said that they had a positive dialogue with those gathering and that the force wanted to “press a reset button.” 

Previous demonstrations in Bristol since March 21 against the proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill have seen clashes with police.

The proposed Bill would give police in England and Wales more power over non-violent protests, including those deemed too noisy or a nuisance.

Retail worker Gemma said the protest was “really peaceful” compared with the others “because there’s not a small army of riot police anywhere near us.”

She told the Guardian: “My family are Travellers, and this Bill is going to affect them — if it goes through they could lose their homes. 

“There’s a large Traveller community in Bristol, which is why so many people are protesting.”

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