Man jumps off Tower Bridge in Olympic taxi protest

LONDON (Reuters) - A man jumped off London's historic Tower Bridge into the River Thames on Monday during a protest by taxi drivers over their exclusion from part of a special Olympic Games road network in the capital and survived.

Police pulled him from the water under the landmark bridge, from which Olympic rings were suspended to celebrate the 2012 London Games, and arrested him on a public order offence.

The man, who has not been named, had been taking part in a protest by London taxi drivers over a decision to keep them off part of a road network reserved for Olympic athletes.

The drivers are worried that they will be stuck in congestion and will lose money during the Games.

Tower Bridge, which was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1894, is a suspension and bascule bridge designed to allow tall ships to sail through. It is next to the Tower of London from which it takes its name.

(Reporting by Sophie Kirby and Peter Griffiths)