Police put the boot in over Blaine’s stunt

SOME onlookers hurl eggs and golf balls at him, others flash their breasts or bang drums to wake him up in the middle of the night.

And now London Metropolitan Police are putting the boot in over illusionist David Blaine’s starvation stunt.

Police say the circus around Blaine’s clear box, which is suspended from a crane near Tower Bridge, has escalated to such a point that it is costing large amounts of money and creating potential public order problems.

When he eventually descends after his 44-day self-imposed isolation Blaine may be presented with a bill from the police.

Met Commissioner Sir John Stevens said: “We have asked the people who have been staging the event to pay for the policing. It is important to say that there has been a considerable expense.

“We have concerns about the public order situation around what he is doing down there and we are assessing that on a continuing basis.

“What’s taking place at Tower Bridge is an example of how these things can escalate,” he said.

To the amazement of his American fans Blaine, a 30-year-old New Yorker, has faced a backlash from the British public after launching his stunt.

One man has been charged with threatening behaviour and criminal damage after allegedly trying to cut off his water supply.

Unimpressed passers-by have even taunted Blaine by waving burgers and hot dogs at him.

Blaine’s girlfriend Manon von Gerkan cleaned up his box after the last egg attack and said she had found the reaction to the stunt “quite bizarre”.