An hours-long standoff between police and a graffiti vandal atop a major commuter bridge has ended in the trespasser's arrest.
Police had been negotiating with the man for about eight hours after they were called to Melbourne's Bolte Bridge at 3am over reports someone had climbed up one of the 140-metre-high pillars.
Just after 11am, the man, dressed head to toe in black, climbed down the pillar and surrendered to police on the embankment at the bottom of the bridge.
Hours earlier, he had climbed up the pillar, before abseiling down it and painting 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.
Exactly how the trespasser got to the top of the bridge is unknown, but some reports have suggested an entry door at the lower level was open and a black bag was covering a nearby CCTV camera.
It had been a cold morning in Melbourne, with the temperature dropping to four degrees as fog covered the top of the pillar where the man sat.
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!"
The unknown man did not specify which taxes he wanted lowered but also demanded a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk.
However, hours later, just before 10:30am, he posted: "I'll be down at 12pm peacefully. Just waiting for the tide to get a little bit lower."
An earlier video shows feet dangling off the tower and zooms in on a large police presence below before the man "flips the bird" to officers.
In another post, the vandal shows video of a drone buzzing nearby with the caption "the audacity to send a drone up here with no sandwich".
"These spastics could attach a sandwich and a glass of milk and this whole f---ing ordeal would be over, but I guess I'm the only logical one here," the masked man said.
Earlier, 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 was closed.
Those able to cross the bridge were reduced to 40km/h per hour.
Media outlets were been asked to cease flying drones in the area and to cover the incident from a safe area at a nearby park.
"This is a complex and dynamic situation," the spokesperson said.
"The safety of the man atop the bridge tower and our attending members is paramount."
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 include a $30,000 surety, a nightly curfew and a ban on him possessing graffiti or abseiling equipment. He is also banned from traveling interstate or overseas.