"THE Government has failed to act."

That was the message from a Cumbrian climate activist after he and dozens of others from the county descended on London to draw attention to the climate crisis.

Adrian Porter, 53, is a member of the county's branch of Extinction Rebellion, the protest group which is carrying out the 12-day-long Impossible Rebellion in the capital in an effort to force the Government to take action.

Mr Porter, a South Lakeland heating engineer, said: “We’re holding crisis talks and everyone’s invited to the table to share their ideas.

"The Government has failed to act and so the people of this country need to work together to find the solutions – we need everybody round the table."

The protests have moved into their third day. Images taken yesterday showed a giant pink table had been erected and was blocking traffic at Covent Garden.

Katie Begley, an architect in south Cumbria who is also taking part in the protests in London, said acts of civil disobedience - such as roads being blocked - were being undertaken as a 'last resort'.

"We’ve tried asking the Government politely to act on the climate crisis, but it hasn’t worked, so we’re left with no other choice," said Ms Begley, 33.

"Speaking as an architect, we need the Government to legislate for, and fund, all buildings, new and old, to be more energy efficient."

Ms Begley's mum, Suzie, said: “It’s no use the Government labelling us as criminals, eco-fascists and other such nonsense.

"We’re just ordinary people trying to get this government to act on the science and protect our children and our grandchildren’s future."

The London protests come just weeks after a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that said human activity had caused unprecedented and, in some ways, irreversible change to the climate.