A pro-Palestine protester who climbed Big Ben barefoot and refused to come down for 15 hours has denied causing a 'serious disruption', a court heard.Daniel Day denied intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance after he climbed part-way up the 96-metre high structure on March 8 whilst waving a Palestinian flag.The 30-year-old from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, live-streamed himself scaling the building barefoot at 7.24am and refusing to come down until after midnight.As he climbed Big Ben, the protester, who was wearing a black coat and baseball cap, cut his foot and smeared the beloved British landmark with his blood.Prosecutor David Matthew told Southwark Crown Court on June 8, Day's actions caused a 'serious disruption' which led to a police, fire and ambulance response that closed Westminster Bridge and brought the surrounding area to a standstill.He said Day 'succeeded in blocking up what is a major part of the central London road network'.CCTV played in court captured Day using his hands to climb up the building while carrying a Palestine flag in his hands.In videos from Day's Instagram account shown to jurors, the protester can be heard shouting 'free Palestine', 'from the river to the sea' and 'Israel is a terrorist state,' from the side of the tower. Daniel Day scaled part of the 96-metre-high structure and denied intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance in court The 30-year-old climbed the Elizabeth Tower and sat on the corner of the historic landmark smeared with blood from his foot Day, who live-streamed the act from his account, said: 'We're being violently attacked by police for peaceful protest.'That's why I'm taking action at the so-called hub of democracy today.'The defendant shouted to those below: 'Listen, no police are to come anywhere near me. If you come too close, I'm going higher. I'm here peacefully, I'm here to harm nobody.'In another video, Day said: 'I'm safe as houses up here. I'm on this ledge thing that I've accidentally covered in blood from a tiny little cut on my foot.'It was easier to climb barefoot than in my trainers, so I kicked them off halfway.'Opening the trial on Monday the prosecutor told jurors, services stopped, shops shut and public transport was re-routed.Mr Matthew said: 'He managed to stop any of the shops in the area carrying on their business and having customers.'A lot of buses run through the area and all their passengers had to change their route. The tours of the Palace of Westminster were stopped. The protester pictured on the side of Big Ben on March 8 after scaling the historic structure Firefighters attempt to rescue the protester from the side of Elizabeth Tower as he videoed them'It also required police officers to be dragged from different areas of London.'The prosecutor added that Day could see the chaos he caused, refused to come down, launched verbal attacks on the police and was 'clearly pleased with what he achieved' after 'sending out messages and film on his Instagram account.'When Day arrived at the Houses of Parliament, he climbed over railings and 'climbed well and got a good way up' on the north side of the tower before waving a Palestinian flag. The protester then spent the best part of an hour trying to move round the corner to the west side of Big Ben which faces Parliament Square.He 'then climbed up further and found a ledge on a corner of the clock tower, Big Ben, he could sit on' and stayed there for the next 15 hours, Mr Matthew said.The court heard Day decided to remove his shoes and a cut from his foot bled on to the stone. Police were put in a 'difficult position' by the protester who 'obviously had to try to get him down, but without injuring him.'Mr Matthew continued: 'Any fall from the height that he was at could have killed him and indeed anyone who was trying to get him off the tower.'Effectively they had no choice but to wait for him to agree to come down.'There were other people in Westminster who wanted to show support for Palestine so Day 'had a gallery to play to'.Droves of protesters waving Palestinian flags gathered at the edge of the cordoned Bridge Street shouting 'We love you' at the top of their lungs. The prosecutor said 'some of the people on the road thought it sensible to obstruct the fire engines'. Police then blocked off Bridge Street, before shutting down Westminster Bridge, closing traffic and pedestrian access off the Embankment, and closing parts of Parliament Square at times.Day did not agree to come down until just after midnight – 12 hours after a cherry picker provided by the fire service had arrived at the scene.He was arrested by police once on the ground.The trial continues.