HONG Kong students built a medieval-style catapult to sling petrol bombs at cops as violence erupted across the city's university campuses.

Demonstrators constructed flaming barricades and raided university equipment to arm themselves in intensifying clashes with police.

37 Protesters load the makeshift catapult with a flaming petrol bomb

37 They cheer as it is flung into the air, high over the barricade

37 The petrol bomb lands and engulfs the ground in flames

37 Protesters constructed a crude catapult to shoot flaming petrol bombs over the barricades Credit: Reuters

37 A masked student armed with a bow and arrow Credit: AFP or licensors

In bizarre scenes the student protesters set up watchtowers and barricades made out of flaming tree branches and stolen sports equipment.

Clad all in black and donning gas masks the young adults resembled something out of Mad Max rather than studious pupils at the city's top unis.

Education chiefs closed down campuses ending term early for the first time ever in a bid to stop the violence.

However, cops accused the campuses of churning out criminals and becoming "weapons factories" as they attempted to smash through barricades.

Earlier in the week, students from the Sha Tin campus of the China University collected 2,356 empty cartridges, tear gas canisters and rubber bullets from the police onslaught.

Meanwhile, it was briefly reported on Twitter that Hong Kong's government were "expected to announce curfew for weekend."

37 Office workers left their desks to join the protests Credit: EPA

37 Smartly dressed office workers joined in protests Credit: AP:Associated Press

37 Pro-democracy activists and office workers take part in a flash mob Credit: EPA

37 A roadblock across a main road in Hong Kong Credit: AFP or licensors

37 Students urged the public to help smuggle in bomb-making supplies Credit: AFP or licensors

37 Bizarre apocalyptic scenes show watchtowers constructed out of rubbish Credit: Getty Images - Getty

37 Protesters tighten a bow Credit: EPA

37 Students stash food supplies inside the Polytechnic University in Hong Komg Credit: Reuters

37 Stacked bricks block roads near the unis Credit: AP:Associated Press

37 A protester readies to hurl a Molotov cocktail Credit: EPA

37 Boxes of instant noodles are stacked inside the university's food hall Credit: Reuters

The news was shared by China's Global Times before being deleted.

Officials are yet to respond to the rumour.

Throughout the week's continuing protest, demonstrators armed with bows launched flaming arrows from the Chinese University of Hong Kong - as China threatened to send in troops to deal with the escalating violence.

Groups of activists also set a metro station ablaze, while a woman was savagely beaten by protesters.

Smartly dressed office workers left their desks and took to the streets to join in protests.

On Tuesday, shocking footage emerged of police battering a heavily pregnant woman.

As the violence continued, protesters near the University of Hong Kong campus threw chairs and traffic cones from a footbridge on to moving traffic below, injuring a motorbike rider in a move branded "murderous" by police.

37 Masked and black-clad protesters Credit: EPA

37 A protester readies to hurl a Molatov cocktail across an abandoned sports complex Credit: EPA

37 Students littered the roads with bricks and rubble to prevent police cars entering Credit: Reuters

37 Protesters sleep overnight in a sports stadium Credit: Getty Images - Getty

37 Masked activists construct petrol bombs Credit: AFP or licensors

37 Students sit inside a makeshift blockade armed with bows Credit: AP:Associated Press

37 A woman injured in the protest is treated Credit: AP:Associated Press

37 A student protester armed with a bow and arrow Credit: Reuters

37 Students hoarded stolen university equipment Credit: AP:Associated Press

37 A man is kicked to the ground as things get ugly Credit: Reuters

37 Students look out over barricades, keeping cops at bay Credit: Getty Images - Getty

37 Activists in sleeping bags at the protest site Credit: Getty Images - Getty

Officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets during overnight rioting that prompted scores of students to flee to mainland China.

Police said Hong Kong was on the "brink of total breakdown".

On Tuesday police said the protesters had committed "insane" acts, throwing trash, bicycles and other debris on to metro tracks and overhead power lines.

Senior Superintendent Kong Wing-cheung told a briefing yesterday: "Our society has been pushed to the brink of a total breakdown."

With more than 260 people arrested on Monday alone, the total number of those arrested by police since the action kicked off in June has risen to about 3,560.

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Superintendent Kong said that officers had become fearful of their personal safety. Rather than backing off, some protesters were likely to confront police when guns were drawn, he said.

He added that the incident on Monday in which a 57-year-old man was set on fire by protesters was being investigated as an attempted murder, although no arrests had been made.

The victim, who had angered protesters by criticising their actions, remains in a coma with severe burns.

37 A masked protester lays on the ground Credit: AP:Associated Press

37 A protester uses a saw to hack apart stolen equipment and fashion weapons Credit: EPA

37 Students stacked chairs and set them alight to blockade police Credit: AP:Associated Press

37 Protesters use umbrellas to protect from rubber bullets Credit: AP:Associated Press

37 Police attempted to infiltrate university campuses Credit: AP:Associated Press

37 A student leaves campus as term was ended early Credit: Reuters

37 Protesters set up makeshift camps amid the chaos Credit: Getty Images - Getty

37 A protester paints graffiti during a protest in Kowloon Tong Credit: EPA