THE SCOTSMAN REPORTING TEAM

Key points

• Hundreds of protesters attempt to breach security fence around G8 summit
• Group of black-clad protesters pull down 20ft section before being stopped
• Tempers flare as planned march cancelled then reinstated after violence

Key quote
"My message today to them [the violent protesters] would be that I would like to take each of you individually and sit you in a village in Malawi, watching children dying, and then see if you think you have contributed at all to saving their lives by your action this week in Scotland" - Jack McConnell, First Minister

Story in full ANTI-CAPITALISTS stormed the "ring of steel" protecting Gleneagles yesterday as world leaders arrived in Scotland for the most eagerly anticipated global summit in a generation.

As the heads of the G8 group of nations sat down to discuss momentous proposals to slash African debt and tackle climate change, a crowd of hundreds led by black-clad protesters in crash helmets turned a day of hope into a day of violence.

Presidents and prime ministers, who just hours before had been vying with each other to play host to the Olympics, sat down last night to a formal banquet hosted by the Queen ahead of the tough negotiations of the next two days.

But violence, not politics, had once again stolen the G8 headlines.

The most dramatic confrontation happened around Auchterader when the message of thousands of peaceful protesters was drowned out by those intent on violence.

Several hundred people split off from the route of a planned march and charged across a field toward the "ring of steel" around Gleneagles.

A small group pulled down a 20ft section of fence and threw rocks and other missiles at police on the other side. Officers had to abandon a nearby watchtower as it came under sustained assault.

In a dramatic show of strength, police flew in reinforcements in a Chinook transport helicopter, who quickly moved to secure the fence.

The assault on the hotel was part of a highly organised campaign of disruption and violence which began in the early hours.

Earlier, roads, including the M9, and railway lines were forced to close, causing chaos for thousands travelling to work as protesters targeted transport networks.

In Stirling, there were violent clashes between police and protesters when thousands of people at the "eco-camp" near the city left in groups of 50 in the early hours of the morning to wreak havoc.

Nearby businesses, including a Burger King restaurant, had windows smashed and were daubed with anti-G8 graffiti. In the small village of Bannockburn, protesters armed with metal bars, sticks and stones went on a violent rampage, smashing car windows, ripping satellite dishes from homes and fighting running battles with police.

By 8pm yesterday, there had been more than 150 arrests and 29 police were injured across Perthshire, Stirling and Edinburgh.

However, the disruption had no effect on the business of the G8 summit, with world leaders, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, US President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin flying in to the Perthshire hotel by helicopter.

The violence was condemned by the police, human rights activists involved in the official march in Auchterarder, Bob Geldof and Scotland's First Minister, Jack McConnell.

Mr McConnell hit out at the "thugs" responsible, saying they had showed "an utter contempt for the lives of ordinary Scots and... the 100 million children whose lives could be saved by the decision made on Friday.

"My message today to them would be that I would like to take each of you individually and sit you in a village in Malawi, watching children dying, and then see if you think you have contributed at all to saving their lives by your action this week in Scotland."

The violence in Stirling had been so bad that police initially cancelled the official march from Auchterarder to the Gleneagles Hotel, organised by the G8 Alternatives group.

Chief Constable Peter Wilson warned: "Softball is over. We are going to engage these people and we going to engage them robustly."

However, the decision appeared to create further disruption. Hundreds of people in Edinburgh waiting to travel to Auchterarder staged an impromptu march up and down Princes Street.

Shops pulled down the shutters and within half an hour the protesters' numbers swelled to around 500.

Tensions rose when around ten police vans hemmed the protesters in at the side of the National Gallery to cut off their access to Hanover Street, while officers on horseback stopped the crowd moving back along Princes Street.

A mêlée developed as police went into the crowd and hauled some protesters out. Others retaliated by punching officers, who fought back with their arms rather than batons.

Mounted police then pushed into the crowd before lines of police officers moved in to force half of the crowd into Princes Street Gardens.

There followed tense negotiations at Gleneagles between police and G8 Alternatives - who threatened to hold a potentially explosive rally outside the US Consulate in Edinburgh if the march did not go ahead.

Senior officers agreed that the march could take place about two hours later than planned, at 2:15pm. As the march got under way, the crowd of about 3,500 people was led by a piper in a kilt, followed by Scottish Socialist Party leader, Colin Fox; Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon was killed in Iraq; G8 Alternatives organiser Gill Hubbard; the Respect MP, George Galloway; and human rights lawyer, Aamer Anwar.

The march was stopped around 15ft from a metal fence blocking the route to Gleneagles.

One marcher, Margaret Chisholm, 60, from Dundee, said she was marching for "some sort of fairness for those less fortunate than ourselves, who don't have a voice".

It was then that several hundred protesters split from the march and headed over a field to confront police at the wire-mesh fence surrounding the hotel.

About 100 riot police with dogs marched double-time towards the no-man's land between the first and second fence and began to corral the protesters who had made it through the breach. Some of the demonstrators also threw stones and clumps of earth.

As more police arrived, the demonstrators found themselves outnumbered and within an hour officers had the situation under control.

There were no reports of serious injuries at the Gleneagles confrontation. However, Central Scotland Police said four of its officers required hospital treatment after the violence in the Stirling area. One officer was kept in overnight for observation. Police said a single protester was reported to have been injured by a cow.

But perhaps the most effective protests yesterday were against the Scottish transport network. Police were forced to close the M80 and M9 near Stirling for six hours from 7am, causing long tailbacks on surrounding roads, after protesters ran on to the highways.

The M9 was closed between junction nine at Bannockburn and junction 11 at the Keir roundabout, and the M80 south from Bannockburn to junction five at Haggs. Traffic over the Kincardine Bridge was at a standstill for two hours.

There was also gridlock on the A9, which runs past Gleneagles, with sections closed between Stirling and Perth. At 8am, journeys were taking three times as long as normal.

A Glasgow-Inverness train with 40 passengers on board was also forced to stop at Blackford, near Gleneagles, at around 8:10am when the driver spotted 50-70 protesters blockading the track ahead.