Extinction Rebellion protest blocks road in Peterborough city centre

The protester sat in the road on the end of Cross Street, where it adjoins both Church Street and Cowgate in the centre of the city.

The protest was peaceful and saw the lady sit in the middle of the road wearing a placard that read: “I am terrified that the climate crisis will poison the lives of my grandkids.”

The protest appeared to have been organised in conjunction with similar demonstrations in Cambridge on Saturday.

There, a large number of protesters caused traffic chaos by sitting or lying in major city centre roads wearing similar placards explaining why they were ‘terrified’ about the climate situation in the UK.

They were organised to draw attention to the inaction of the country’s MPs after they officially declared a climate emergency on May 1 2019.

Protests on the issue in Peterborough appear to have been confined to this one incident that was dealt with peacefully. The woman was reportedly confronted by angry passers-by but remained committed to her protests before moving on of her own accord.

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed that the incident was reported to them at 11am, officers attended and spoke to the woman, offered her some advice and the incident was over by 11.45am.

A witness said: “The courage of this woman is amazing, she had a timer set for five minutes and blocked traffic to stand up for something she believed in despite being constantly harassed by a group of men. Police handled the situation with compassion & allowed her to complete her protest.”