VIDEO: Catalonia firefighters form HUMAN SHIELD to protect Catalan voters from riot police
CATALAN firefighters stood in front of voters in the face of Spanish police during ugly scenes in the region.
Catalan firefighters stand between Spanish police and voters
Voters can be seen arms raised as the firefighters in high vis form a line in front of them.
In the footage, posted on Twitter, the firefighters, arm-in-arm, move walk towards the police who raise shields and hold batons.
It comes as police fired grenades and rubber bullets at voters who have been seen bleeding in the streets as violence breaks out across Barcelona today.
The latest figures from the Catalan Government suggest around 337 people have been injured by police, some seriously.
The Spanish Government continues to crackdown with heavy-handed measures on the controversial Catalan referendum.
The referendum, declared illegal by Spain's central government, has thrown the country into its worst constitutional crisis in decades and raised fears of street violence as a test of will between Madrid and Barcelona plays out.
Spanish riot police were deployed shortly before polling stations opened, according to El Pais newspaper.
Elderly men and women have been carried by officers away from the voting stations, with images of bloodied pensioners appearing online.
A video on El Pais website showed helmeted riot police in a standoff with a group of angry voters near a voting station at a Barcelona school. Voters raised their hands and shouted "out".
Human chains have now been formed around the polling stations and sit-ins staged by defiant Catalans.
The National Police were deployed after the Catalan regional police did not close polling stations in line with a court order.
Spain’s interior ministry says national police and the Civil Guard have begun to seize ballot boxes and voting papers.