A news bulletin has failed to begin on time at TV7 after a police officer's refusal to leave the studio.

Earlier on Wednesday, a bailiff entered the headquarters of the Bulgarian national private channel to seize its equipment. Reportedly, the ground for her actions is a "litigation".

Police joined his efforts, with tens of officers being deployed to assist the bailiff in performing their duties.

Various hosts repeatedly tried to talk police officers into leaving the room, and journalists have complained of being unable to carry out their duties.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria's Interior Ministry announced in an official statement that its employees were helping the bailiff perform her duties.

A "minimum number" of officers had been sent initially, but more had to be dispatched later in the name of "public order".

"There should be no people from the outside," a TV7 official explained to police shortly after the 15:30 bulletin that could not start on schedule. It began at 15:40 instead running the headline: "Who is trying to close TV7?"

It had to be interrupted some 5 minutes later as police arrived again in the studio.

However, the TV station has not yet been switched off as of 15:45 local time (13:45 GMT).

All the developments are being aired live.

During the bulletin, a host reported that a bailiff had attempted to stop TV7's servers.

Various prominent Bulgarian intellectuals, some politicians and a number of journalists (including the Union of Bulgarian Journalists) have condemned what they call an "infringement" on a media outlet.

A protest is now scheduled for 18:30 local time in front of the TV's headquarters.