Protesters storm Sri Lankan president’s official residence

Police use water canon to disperse protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka (Amitha Thennakoon/AP)

Sri Lankan protesters demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa have forced their way into his official residence, as thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Colombo decrying the nation’s worst economic crisis in recent memory.

It is not clear if Mr Rajapaksa is inside the residence in Colombo, but footage filmed on mobile phones showed a large number of people inside the well-fortified house and on the grounds outside.