A graffiti vandal's stunt on a major commuter bridge has slowed traffic to a crawl and triggered a major police operation as he remains atop one of its pillars.
Traffic is piling up on Melbourne's Bolte Bridge after emergency services were called there at 3am on Tuesday over reports a man had climbed up one of the 140-metre-high pillars.
It's believed the man abseiled down the pillar and painted a giant "Pam the Bird" tag, a notorious cartoon bird that has been graffitied across Melbourne for years, often on hard to reach places and heritage-listed buildings.
A police spokesperson said they were negotiating with the man to get him down safely.
"He is refusing to follow police direction and come down," the spokesperson said.
"There are a significant number of police resources in the area including uniform members and water police units."
Just after 9am, the man abseiled down the pillar, waved to police and media below, before returning to the top.
Police said there was no threat to the public or road users and one lane of the bridge is closed.
Those able to cross the bridge have been reduced to 40km/h per hour.
Just how the intruder got to the top of the bridge is unknown, with reports an entry door at lower level has been left open and a black bag covering a nearby CCTV camera.
It's a cold morning in Melbourne, with the temperature dropping to four degrees as fog covered the top of the pillar where the man is sitting.
An Instagram page, @pambirdofficial, has shared video stories, appearing to be from the top of the pillar with the hashtag #notcomingdown.
In one video, a caption says: "Lower the taxes and drone me some f--ken food! Let's go boys and girls!"
In the same video, a man's voice says: "I'm not coming down until they lower the taxes".
The man, clad head to toe in black, did not specify which taxes he wanted lowered.
Another video shows feet dangling off the tower and zooms in on a large police presence below before the man "flips the bird" to officers.
It is not yet known who the man is but It's believed he has requested a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk.
Police previously charged 22-year-old Jack Gibson-Burrell with 209 offences over the "Pam the Bird" graffiti, including reckless conduct endangering life or serious injury, criminal damage, theft and aggravated burglary.
Gibson-Burrell is accused of causing about $700,000 in damages, including to heritage-listed Victorian landmarks where he allegedly sprayed the tag.
This includes allegations he trespassed into Melbourne's Flinders Street Station in July 2024 and abseiled up its famous clock tower to paint the bird on it.
He was granted bail in May ahead of a future trial in the County Court.
His bail conditions are subjected to a $30,000 surety, a nightly curfew, cannot possess graffiti or abseiling equipment and must not travel interstate or overseas.
