The London Marathon was disrupted on Sunday morning as police were forced to wrestle two protesters to the floor on Tower Bridge. The two men jumped over barriers and onto the road just before the leaders of the elite men’s race passed through.

The first protester on the road threw red paint over the lead van, which was travelling in front of the leading pack. One of the two motorbikes travelling in front of the runners then stopped, with one of the riders disembarking and tackling the protesters to the ground. The other bike was able to carry on as the runners managed to get past the commotion without being forced to stop. Police raced to the scene to apprehend the two protesters after they had already been halted as spectators next to the road watched on in disbelief.

Campaign group Youth Demand were responsible for the protest, with the two men wearing white t-shirts which included the slogan: “Stop arming Israel.” And the group posted a video of the incident to their X (formerly Twitter) page along with a message to their followers.

The message read: “RACE AGAINST TIME TO SAVE GAZA: YOUTH DEMAND SUPPORTERS DISRUPT LONDON MARATHON.

“At 10:30am, Willow and Cristy jumped the barriers at Tower Bridge and sat down in front of the men's elite race at the London Marathon, wearing 'Stop Arming Israel' t-shirts.

“Gaza is running out of food. Arming genocide crosses the line. We won't be bystanders: join us in resistance.”

A ladies’ voice can also be heard on the video as she screams: “The UK Labour government is complicit in enabling a genocide in Palestine.

"We continue to provide arms to Israel, the genocidal state of Israel. We are breaking UK domestic law and international law by supplying Israel with arms. Stop the genocide.”

The London Marathon action began at 8.50am on Sunday as the elite wheelchair races got underway. Marcel Hug cruised to victory in the men’s wheelchair race, with Catherine Debrunner winning the women’s wheelchair race.

Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa later won the women’s event, with Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe taking the honours in the men’s race.

And commenting on the women’s event, three-time London Marathon winner Paula Radcliffe told the BBC: “That was a phenomenal race, so hats off to Tigst Assefa for being brave enough to go out in the pace she did.

"The manner in which she lifted herself to get across the line as well. You can see how much it means to her. It's more to build on for her moving forward.”