A man arrested following an 11-hour rooftop protest that brought Maidstone town centre to a standstill will spend Christmas behind bars.

Martin Tiplady, of Kent Avenue, was charged with causing a public nuisance after allegedly scaling the scaffolding of Miller Heights on Saturday and threatening to jump off.

The 49-year-old wept in the dock when he appeared before magistrates this afternoon, where he was remanded in custody until his next court appearance on December 29.

He did not enter a plea.

The rooftop protest, which began at 4.20pm and lasted until 3.20am the following morning, reportedly related to a grievance against Kent Police.

Maidstone Magistrates’ Court heard that 27 police officers were involved in the operation to bring the man down, which caused traffic chaos and led to a number of businesses having to close.

Several roads, including Mote Road and Lower Stone Street were shut, and a cordon was set up around a 200-yard “no go” zone between the turning for Romney Place and Knightrider Street.

Debbie Green, prosecuting, said: “There was massive disruption costing thousands of pounds in resources.

“The financial losses to business activities was collosal.”

It is understood The Shamrat indian restaurant lost out on an estimated 100 covers, losing £5,000, while The Fisherman’s Arms had to cancel its reopening night at a cost of £1,000.

A number of other restaurants were also affected.