5,000 marchers occupy Wall St

Thousands of anti-Wall Street protesters marched in demonstrations across the US today.

An estimated 5,000 people including nurses, teachers, transport workers and other union members were in the largest, the Occupy Wall Street march in Manhattan.

"Our workers are excited about this movement. The country has been turned upside down," said United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew.

The movement has spread to other cities. People marched in Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco and Boston, where protesters set up a camp in the financial district.

Lisa Doherty, 56, said she comes to the Boston site every day and plans to do so indefinitely. She said: "I have five children and seven grandchildren, and I want them to grow up in a better world with more equality and without corporations buying our politicians."

A dozen people were arrested in New York, including one who was charged with assault after a policeman was knocked from his scooter. Others had tried to break through a police barricade.

The protesters object to the Wall Street bailout in 2008, which they say left banks to enjoy huge profits while average Americans suffered under high unemployment and job insecurity with little help from the federal government.

The movement has grown from a ragged group in Manhattan to protesters of all ages demonstrating from Seattle to Tampa. In Los Angeles, protester Lisa Clapier, 46, said: "I am a mother. I want a better world for my children."