Officers in riot gear used tear gas to disperse demonstrators as cars were set alight and petrol bombs thrown.

The clashes have centred on the Youth House (Ungdomshuset) building in the Noerrebro district of Copenhagen.

Leftwing activists have occupied it since 1982 but it was sold by the city in 2000 to a Christian group.

The fundamentalist group, called Faderhuset, obtained an eviction order but the activists vowed not to leave, saying the council had no right to sell the building while it was still in use.