Dozens of police in Hong Kong are removing bamboo barriers that pro-democracy protesters had put up overnight after they were attacked the previous day by a mob of masked men.

Police also cleared out protesters' tents nearby this morning, and were starting to take down other makeshift barricades of plywood, rubbish bins and other items, and piling them into lorries and vans.

Crowds of people stood nearby watching in the heart of the city's financial district.

The protesters, led by university students, are pushing for greater say in the territory's first direct elections in 2017.

They have occupied sections of roads in three main areas in Hong Kong since September 28 in a civil disobedience movement.

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