Berserk

Berserk

ITN - Tuesday, October 7 03:06 pm

A bald, naked man, who said he was a British tourist, has gone swimming in the moat of Japan's Imperial Palace.

Eyewitnesses said he managed to climb the palace wall, throwing rocks and splashing water at police before being taken into custody.

Television footage showed the tall man getting out of the water at one point, chasing police with a rock and a plastic construction site pole.

He then went back to the murky water and swam across to the other side of the moat, climbing up the eight-metre stone wall of the palace.

He was caught by two policemen, after a chase which eyewitnesses said lasted for an hour-and-a-half.

Police said it was unclear what his motives were, although media said he had dropped a bag in the water.

The man, aged around 40, first said he was Spanish but later said he was a Briton living in Spain, police said.

  LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland slumped 41 percent in late trading on Tuesday to their lowest level since late 1993 amid concerns over funding needs for the banking sector. HBOS fell 38 percent, while Lloyds TSB and Barclays shed 10.9 and 17 percent, respectively. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling, will hold talks on the financial crisis with the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, later on Tuesday, a spokesman said.