Update | Barriers torn down amid 'escalating violence' at Mong Kok protest zone

Part of a Mong Kok street blocked by Occupy supporters was reopened to traffic yesterday after several men tore down barricades amid angry scenes.

Police reiterated their warning that Mong Kok was "on the verge of a riot" amid what they said was "escalating violence".

The unidentified men removed wooden boards from a section of Portland Street near Langham Place and ripped up other barricades on Argyle Street. But another section of Portland Street remains blocked. The men said they were not court bailiffs acting for transport operators who have been granted injunctions ordering clearance of the roads.

"I'm coming to clear the rubbish. Why do I need bailiffs?" one of the men, identifying himself as "a man of righteousness", said. "I'll just rip off whatever [barricades] I see."

Police arrived to mediate after a row broke out between the men and protesters. Officers took the boards to the side of the road, enabling vehicles to enter Argyle Street from Portland Street.

Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Steve Hui Chun-tak said 11 people, aged 32 to 82, had been arrested in Mong Kok since Wednesday afternoon for common assault, indecent assault, possession of offensive weapons, disorderly conduct and dropping objects from buildings.