Police put out a statement late on Tuesday evening saying they were looking for a peaceful solution to the huge confrontation between them and students at Chinese University and that they were communicating with the school.

They said they were arranging a retreat to stop the stand-off. But they called on the protesters to stop charging and throwing objects onto Tolo Highway and a nearby MTR track.

But the announcement came across as something of a Parthian shot, as it was made just minutes after the police had deployed water-cannon on students who had gathered at one end of the bridge across the highway.

The water cannon then retreated and students ran onto the bridge and threw objects onto the highway.

About an hour later, police released a second statement saying the force and the university had reached a consensus in search for a peaceful solution.

But they criticised the students, saying they had thrown bricks, petrol bombs, "launched" arrows and even fired a signal flare at police officers.

They said hard objects and petrol bombs had been thrown onto Tolo Highway, endangering road users. Police also said emergency, including ambulances, had been hampered.

But the situation did appear to be easing as midnight approached.

Earlier in the day, the campus had resembled a war-zone with burning barricades and shrubs, and clouds of tear gas.

Police had turned up at the university after students began throwing objects onto the highway on Tuesday morning at the beginning of a second day of action.