Over 1,000 demonstrators protesting against public transport fare rises overran the main train, metro and bus station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday.

Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters but were unable to prevent people taking trains for free and chanting "the station is free."

Some protesters destroyed cash machines and threw rocks at riot police. Several streets near the station were blocked with burning barricades.

"The only ones being violent are the police. I saw one attack a guy just for carrying a banner," said Natacha de Pina, who works at a bank in the station.

"We threw things at the police because we suffer every day. Three reals is absurd," she said, referring to the new, higher bus fare of around 75p.

Authorities said eight people were treated for injuries and newspapers said 20 people had been detained.

The demonstrators fought running battles with police, who charged the crowd in an attempt to clear the area around the main bus station.

Brazil has witnessed widespread public anger at the billions of pounds being spent on the World Cup.

The country lacks good public transport and struggles with poor education and health infrastructure.

"We won't pay three reals" and "We want Fifa-standard trains," the Rio marchers shouted.

The protest was far smaller than at last year's Confederations Cup when over a million people took to the streets.