Pro-democracy protesters at their main camp in central Hong Kong are bracing themselves for further police intervention following a night of clashes.<br /><br />In the early hours of Wednesday morning officers launched an operation to clear away barricades after demonstrators swarmed into a tunnel on a key four-lane highway.<br /><br />Using pepper spray on those who refused to move, it was the toughest police action against the largely student protesters in more than a week.<br /><br />At least 45 people are said to have been arrested.<br /><br />By mid-morning police had largely left the area.<br /><br />Protesters have been demanding full democracy for the former British colony in the wake of restrictions placed by China on the city’s next election in 2017. <br /><br />Both the Hong Kong and Beijing governments have called the protests illegal.
