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The man accused of the notorious Pam the Bird graffiti has been arrested after he allegedly climbed and vandalised a major bridge, sparking an hours-long police standoff and traffic chaos.

Nearly nine hours after causing a major police operation from the top of Melbourne’s Bolte Bridge, on which he allegedly painted a giant cartoon bird, Jack Gibson-Burrell peacefully surrendered just before midday on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old Yarraville man caused “considerable cost to the public”, police said.

Police had been negotiating with Gibson-Burrell since they were called to the bridge at 2am over reports someone had scaled one of the 140-metre-high pillars.

Just after 11am, Gibson-Burrell, dressed head to toe in black, climbed down the pillar and calmly surrendered to police on the embankment at the bottom of the bridge.

Hours earlier, he had allegedly climbed up the pillar, before abseiling down and painting a Pam the Bird tag, similar to others which have been graffitied across Melbourne for years, often on hard-to-reach places and heritage-listed buildings.

Exactly how he got to the top of the bridge is unknown, but some reports have suggested an entry door at the lower level was open and a black bag was covering a nearby CCTV camera.

A recently created Instagram page, @pambirdofficial, shared video stories appearing to be from Gibson-Burrell at the top of the pillar with the hashtag #notcomingdown.

In one video, a man’s voice says: “I’m not coming down until they lower the taxes. Fucking sick of paying that shit.”

Another video shows feet dangling off the tower and zooms in on a large police presence down below before the man “flips the bird” to officers down below. Later, he added a request for a blanket.

Melbourne’s temperature dropped to 4C on Tuesday morning as fog covered the top of the pillar.

At one point during the standoff, Gibson-Burrell abseiled down the pillar and taunted police and media below with a wave before returning to the top.

After his arrest, Acting Inspector Darren Wallis said a 22-year-old Yarraville man had been taken into custody for questioning.

“It drew a lot of police resources to respond, including specialist resources,” Insp Wallis told AAP.

“It was protracted, and the allegation is that the offender has caused significant damage to the Eastern Tower of the Bolte Bridge, which is going to be a considerable cost to the public.”

Insp Wallis thanked the public for staying away from the area while police negotiated a peaceful and safe outcome.

“It was a particularly precarious situation, quite dangerous to the accused person,” he told reporters.

“It was difficult for us to negotiate that safe conclusion but we got it.”

Police would not confirm the identity of the man in custody.

Gibson-Burrell has previously been charged with 209 offences related to other Pam the Bird graffiti, including reckless conduct endangering life or serious injury, criminal damage, theft and aggravated burglary.

He is accused of causing about $700,000 in damages, including to heritage-listed Victorian landmarks where he allegedly sprayed the tag.

This includes allegations he trespassed into Melbourne’s Flinders Street Station in July 2024 and abseiled up its famous clock tower to paint the bird on it.

Gibson-Burrell has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail in May ahead of a future trial in the County court.

His bail conditions included a $30,000 surety, a nightly curfew and a ban on him possessing graffiti or abseiling equipment. He is also banned from travelling interstate or overseas.

With additional reporting by Achol Arok