Housing activists have clashed with councillors and brought a meeting to a halt after confronting them over the use of bailiffs to collect council tax.
Members of the Acorn campaign group forced a Norwich City Council cabinet meeting to be stopped for half an hour and prevented councillors from leaving the room.
It is the latest incident by the group, which has frequently disrupted meetings at the authority, with Labour councillors accusing it of "harassment".
In the latest clash, earlier this week, Acorn members urged Mike Stonard, the council leader, to support its campaign for a 'bailiff-free Britain' by signing a letter calling on councils to stop using these services.
The letter has already been signed by Norwich South Labour MP, Clive Lewis.
But as the group were breaching the council's rules for when the public can speak at meetings, it was paused until they were removed from the room at City Hall.
Mr Stonard said: "Sorry, you don't have the right to speak. Either you sit down and stay quiet or you will be ushered from the meeting."
Acorn members continued to demand Mr Stonard respond, with members heard saying "this is pathetic, why won't you listen to us" before the leader walked out and the meeting was stopped.
Mr Stonard said Acorn members attended "en masse" and the group "repeatedly disrupted proceedings, shouting over speakers and preventing business from being conducted".
He added: "We consider all this behaviour to be further deliberate intimidation and harassment.
"Acorn is well aware of the formal procedure for asking a public question at a cabinet meeting, as they have done this before, but they instead chose to attempt to intimidate and disrupt."
Acorn, which describes itself as a 'working class union' with chapters across the country, claims more than 5,000 bailiff referrals were made by Norwich City Council last year.
Being subject of a bailiff referral does not mean that they were sent to the household but individuals can be threatened with court action and bailiffs if they are in council tax arrears.
Mr Stonard disputes the council uses bailiffs to intimidate people and says the authority works closely with tenants to offer support when in debt.
He said: "We are one of very few councils who provide up to 100pc council tax reduction scheme for low‑income tenants and we fund the Financial Inclusion Consortium. We work closely with tenants in arrears and offer extensive support.”
But Niahl Hubbard, branch secretary of Acorn Norwich, said he felt intimidated by the council after he fell into council tax debt.
He said he was struggling with his mental health at the time and missed a notification about the tax increasing in the post in 2024.
He said: “I was shocked at how quickly the council escalated to the courts and bailiffs, with hundreds of pounds in legal costs being added onto the £60 I originally owed.
“Luckily I managed to pay the debt off before the bailiffs arrived, but it was terrifying knowing these thugs would be coming to my home and taking my belongings.”
Acorn, which was started in the US, has frequently been criticised over the tactics members deploy during campaigns in Norwich and elsewhere.
Beth Jones, City Hall cabinet member for housing, has said she has been harassed by its members over the past two years.
She says she has been bombarded with 150 telephone calls from Acorn members in the space of a few hours and that members have also attempted to confront her at her place of work.
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