A fundraiser for the forthcoming Temporary Autonomous Art project in Brighton was clamped down on heavily on Saturday.The gig featured local bands and a sound system in an old supermarket in the city centre.

The police arrived quite early and proceeded to surround the whole building, refusing entry to anyone wishing to enter. This just exacerbated a public order situation on the street which would not have happened if they had left us alone.

Things escalated when, after closing down the entrance we were using, we simply opened another one to allow people to enter the building which we were legally occupying.

Police attacked with pepper spray and dogs after surrounding the whole building with a cordon of vehicles, tape, dog and special ops units. There were several arrests and one person was badly mauled by a police dog and had to go to hospital.

The police then tried to storm the entrance but were held off by hand to hand fighting until we managed to get the door closed and keep them out.

The police then served a section 63 and proceeded to impound living vehicles and equipment. Our legal team think the section 63 was served improperly making the impoundings illegal, so we will be attempting to prosecute.

a squ@tter