London cabbies protest over Olympics VIP lanes

London taxi drivers are mounting a third protest over their exclusion from road lanes dedicated to Olympic traffic, with just hours to go before the games' opening ceremony.

Cabbies were due to start their protest at London's Hyde Park corner at 5 p.m. (1600 GMT; 12 p.m. EDT) on Friday, but moved their action up to 2 p.m. after police put restrictions on their demonstration.

The Olympics opening ceremony is expected to start at 9 p.m. London time.

The drivers of London's iconic black cabs are miffed that they are not allowed into the "Games Lanes" reserved for Olympic athletes, officials and VIPs. Cabbies have held two other demonstrations, including one that jammed traffic at Parliament square.