A slave trader's statue in Bristol has been torn down and thrown into the river during a second day of anti-racism protests across the UK. It comes after largely peaceful demonstrations in central London on Saturday saw some clashes with police. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick urged protesters to find another way to make their views heard. But thousands of protesters in London are protesting outside the US Embassy for a second day. Protesters in Bristol used ropes to pull down the bronze statue of Edward Colston, a prominent 17th Century slave trader. Colston was a member of the Royal African Company, which is believed to have transported about 80,000 men, women and children from Africa to the Americas. On his death in 1721, he bequeathed his wealth to charities and his legacy can still be seen on Bristol's streets, memorials and buildings. After the statue fell to the ground, a protester posed with his knee on the statue's neck - reminiscent of the video showing George Floyd, the black man who died while being restrained by a Minnesota police officer. Mr Floyd's death has become the rallying point for hundreds of ant-racist demonstrations across the globe. The Colston statue was then dragged through the streets of Bristol and thrown into the river Avon. The empty plinth was then used as a stage for protesters to make speeches. Historian Prof David Olusoga told BBC News that the statue should have been taken down long before. He said: "Statues are about saying 'this was a great man who did great things'. That is not true, he [Colston] was a slave trader and a murderer." As well as Sunday's mass protest outside the US Embassy in Nine Elms, near Vauxhall, south London, other protests are also taking place in Manchester, Nottingham and Edinburgh. Some 10,000 are believed to be protesting in Bristol. Many bore placards bearing George Floyd's name alongside slogans such as Black Lives Matter and 'I Can't Breathe'. Protesters appeared to be ignoring warnings from both the police commissioner and Health Secretary Matt Hancock not to congregate and risk spreading the coronavirus.