The battle of Stokes Croft began with police and bailiffs arriving at about 10am.

But while the protesters on the site numbered only a few, word soon spread the threatened eviction was under way, and soon a large crowd of supporters and interested bystanders began to gather.

Cheltenham Road was closed, with some roads leading on to Gloucester Road as far away as Bishopston also shut off, and the scene was set for a conflict that's been coming since the first visit by bailiffs last week.

As police kept onlookers away from the scene, bailiffs entered the former comedy club with no resistance – but the difficult part was getting up on to the roof.

Indoor routes to the roof had been barricaded, and when the bailiffs tried to get on to the roof in their cherry picker, protesters fended them off with ladders.

There may have only been a handful of protesters on the site itself, but the Facebook group set up in opposition to Tesco's arrival has more than 3,000 members, and a display of the support for them was evident as hundreds of people gathered on Cheltenham Road shouting a mixture of support for the protesters and abuse at the police and bailiffs.

They joined in with chants such as "You say Tesco, we say no way" and "scum, scum, scum".

The resistance was well-planned, with bailiffs being faced by a scene resembling an obstacle course.

One man was sat on top of a 20ft "tripod" made from three metal poles, two men appeared to have their arms buried in a barrel full of concrete, and two others had one of each of their arms secured inside a length of tubing around the base of the tripod.

Others on the roof, including a man in an alien mask, fought the bailiffs off.

The Jesters occupiers threw green and pink paint at the bailiffs, sprayed them with fire extinguishers and also threw buckets of dirty water – some of which soaked a toddler walking past with her family.

But one by one, they were removed and taken down to the road below in the cherry picker, to be greeted with cheers and applause from the crowds, some of whom made attempts to interfere with the controls of the machine.

One protester would not let go of a ladder, so was loaded on to the cherry picker with it before he tried to lock himself to the machinery with a bicycle "D lock".

The final two protesters were removed with the help of an angle grinder, used to cut the barrel full of concrete they had their arms in.

As they were removed, the bailiffs began to dismantle their tents and pull down banners that had been put up, as the crowds continued to look on.

Just as the evening rush hour got under way, the road was reopened.

With overwhelming numbers on their side, the bailiffs and police had won the battle of Stokes Croft. But not without a fight.