The nightmare comes true

CONCRETE slabs and park benches were turned into weapons against the police as anti-capitalist protesters brought chaos and violence to the city centre.

Time and again, hundreds of anarchists confronted riot police as horrified tourists and office workers ran for cover. Police said they were confident most of the ring leaders had been caught as they arrested more than 100 protesters who had come from across Europe to wreak havoc in the Capital.

Most of them were due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today to face a range of mainly public disorder charges, including at least one fire arms offence.

The city centre was paralysed as more than 1000 demonstrators engaged in a series of running confrontations with police.

The trouble raged throughout the afternoon and into the night as gangs regrouped to challenge the ranks of police gathered from forces across Britain.

Police said around 21 people, including four police officers, were treated for minor injuries. Some were taken to hospital.

In Princes Street Gardens, memorial benches were ripped from the ground and used as battering rams, while loose paving stones on Rose Street were hurled at mounted officers.

The demonstrations were part of the so-called Carnival for Full Enjoyment, a day of protests against capitalism and "wage slavery".

The first signs of trouble began early in the morning, long before the first large groups of anarchists gathered in the West End around midday. Activists tried to chain up pumps at petrol stations in Comiston Road and Calder Road, although police cleared the forecourts. The serious clashes began at around 1pm - about an hour after 60 protesters, many in fancy dress, began parading down Shandwick Place. The trouble was sparked when police blocked the advance of the group, which had grown to more than 250 strong.

A line of mounted police had forced the colourful and noisy parade to turn down Torphichen Street, away from their route towards Scottish Widows' HQ and the main financial district.

The group was then forced down Canning Street, a narrow road alongside the multi-storey Exchange Tower. As the officers followed them from behind, police appeared at the top end of the street - trapping the protesters.

After 15 minutes of noisy protests, tension grew to the point where protesters staged a sudden charge in an attempt to break the police lines. They clambered over parked vehicles and even tried to push cars into the police line.

But officers pushed the crowd back, leading to punches and kicks being swung at police. The carnival atmosphere turned to angry chants of "f*** the police".

At the same time, hard-line anarchists dressed in black, their faces covered by scarves, were roaming through the city centre.

On Princes Street, police in riot gear set up lines, including a 40-strong wall of officers outside the National Galleries of Scotland.

Then, hundreds of protesters gathered in George Street and Charlotte Square, before marching down Frederick Street on to Princes Street, at about 2pm. Police advised shops to close their doors and appealed for motorists to avoid the city centre. Lines of police split the marchers into smaller gangs, with many tourists and shoppers caught in the mayhem.

Some of the anarchists gathered on Princes Street chanted "armed police" and "revolution" as mounted police charged forward several metres. However, the horses beat a retreat after missiles were thrown, and they were replaced with riot police.

At around 2.30pm, the demonstrators were forced into Princes Street Gardens, where the gates were secured with padlocks and chains. As the crowd surged down the embankment, they uprooted flowers and threw them at police. Things quickly turned nastier, as glass bottles and a metal bin were hurled at officers.

The protesters picked up memorial benches and used them as battering rams to try to charge at the police lines.

Aga Haba, who runs the Coffee Pavilion in the Gardens, was trapped inside the hut where she works for around an hour. She said: "We closed up very quickly when we saw the protesters approaching. When they came into the Gardens, it was very frightening. I was terrified."

George Mullay, 73, of Duddingston, and his wife Ann, 73, were caught in the trouble as skirmishes continued the length of Princes Street. Mr Mullay, who was outside Bhs at around 3.30pm, said: "They were smashing windows at the West End. This is no carnival - shops are barricaded and there are people on top of bus stops."

His wife added: "It's a bit frightening, I've lived in Edinburgh all my life and lived through a war and I've never seen anything like this before."

A stalemate between police and protesters in Hanover Street ended at 4.45pm, when protesters tore open the gates to Princes Street Gardens near Bhs and rushed inside. Riot police swiftly followed. Benches were overturned and officers eventually surrounded a hard core group outside the Royal Scottish Academy.

IN Torphichen Street, batons were used to keep the protesters clear of the police lines, while demonstrators hurled bottles and sticks at the police. At the same time in Canning Street, around 40 riot police swooped and dragged a few protesters away.

Through a loudspeaker, police told protesters to remove their headgear and masks or they would be arrested. Members of the Italian anarchist Ya Basta group begrudgingly agreed.

Just before 4.45pm, one young woman in a baseball cap was led away and a number of other protesters were pulled from the crowd, while the crowd chanted "fascist pigs". At 6.25pm, even angrier scenes were seen on Rose Street, when thousands of protesters were involved in a stand-off with 12 police on horseback in lines outside the back door of Marks & Spencer.

Eyewitness Michael Findlay, 27, said he saw about 30 protesters picking up wheeled supermarket cages and throwing them at two rows of police in full riot gear, before flinging bottles at them.

The police line stood firm while behind them about 15 to 20 mounted police looked on.

The Edinburgh resident said: "The protesters definitely started it, they started throwing things at police."

Protesters began hurling bricks ripped up from the pavement to the rear of Jenners and hurled plastic pallets they found at the back of Sainsbury's at police, who retaliated by moving forward. Local youths joined in the fracas taunting police and hurling cans.

They were chants of "whose streets, our streets," and "kill the bill". Apprehensive staff in Sainsbury's locked the doors only letting customers out in short bursts. There was widespread panic as the police moved forward forcing the crowd back. There were also huge cheers when one man grabbed a riot shield, while a group of protesters threw large wire container trolleys at police.

At 8.40pm there were more ugly scenes, this time at the McDonald's restaurant on South St Andrew Street, when skinheads clashed with police and started throwing bottles at officers.

Much of the later trouble appeared to be fuelled by local youths joining the taunting of police and throwing missiles.

At 9.20pm, riot police once again stormed the scene as gangs of drunken youths, many wearing hooded tops, began hurling glass bottles and bins at police. Many of the youngsters had dispersed by the time back-up arrived, leaving just a handful sitting in the road.

The trouble continued sporadically into the evening, until calming down after 9pm. At 9.45pm, street cleaners moved into South St Andrew Street and traffic was allowed back into Princes Street.