The occupation of Birmingham University's senate chambers was broken up yesterday by police, bailiffs and security guards in a dawn raid.

Fifteen students were forcibly evicted but none was arrested when officers stormed through their barricades at 6.30am.

The raid followed High Court judges upholding an injunction banning any occupation of the university's buildings for the next year at a hearing on Monday.

Security guards had let slip that the operation was planned and student lookouts alerted their supporters as the raid began.

They rushed to the building and informed those inside that police officers and baillifs in hard hats had arrived and were preparing to break in.

A spokeswoman for the university's Defend Education group told the Star about the final moments of their week-long occupation.

"They cut through the barricade and came up to the senate chambers," she said.

"We had two groups of five peope kind of blocking the doors by holding arms but they pushed in.

"They threatened us with arrest and gave us a lot of emotional talk.

"They said don't be stupid, if you go now this will be over but if you resist we're going to arrest you and this is going to affect your future career and you won't be able to get jobs."

After a 10-minute stand-off, she said they left in order to organise support for a nationwide strike by UCU-affiliated university workers next Tuesday.

A Birmingham University statement called the group a "tiny, unrepresentative minority," alleging they had wasted resources and harassed staff.

A spokeswoman said: "The 15 occupiers, who are not representative of the wider student body, have been free to leave the occupation over the last week but have chosen not to do so despite repeated requests from the university."

But Birmingham Guild of Students vice-president Hattie Craig insisted the eviction was "not the end of the campaign."

Along with politics student Simon Furse, Ms Craig was named on the injunction served by university bosses and attended Monday's court hearing.

She said: "University management have refused to negotiate and actions are planned over coming weeks.

"We're particularly excited about the demonstration we have organised next Tuesday in solidarity with the UCU strike and the national demonstration expected to take place at the beginning of second term."

n Around 30 Sussex University students are continuing an occupation of their campus's conference centre.

They reoccupied the building on Tuesday evening after holding it for 54 days earlier this year.

Speaking from the sit-in, politics student Laura Grossman said: "One of our aims is to raise awareness among students of the strike that is happening on Tuesday."