Checkpoint Charlie memorial removed

Workers last night began removing a field of crosses at Berlin's former Checkpoint Charlie after a privately run museum lost a court battle to keep the memorial to people killed at the East German border during the Cold War.

The workers began unscrewing the 1067 crosses after covering the plaques with the victims' names and carrying them away.

Several hundred protesters jeered and whistled derisively in the rain at the former crossing point between East and West Berlin.

The museum had been given until last night to raise 36 million ($64 million) to buy the land where it erected the memorial in October.