A SECOND climate change march by Monmouth school pupils on Friday (24th May) saw a smaller crowd of protestors - around 40 - but organisers went to some length to ensure that the march was orderly and responsible.

The aim, like the previous march on 12th April, was to highlight the effects man is having on the climate by halting the traffic in Monnow Street and occupying the fuel station in Cinderhill Street in a protest against fossil fuels and the "destruction of the climate".

The protestors heard speeches on Monnow Bridge from Rio Chandler, one of the organisers, and Liberty Ashton who both called for action to save the planet.

"You don’t want to destroy something you live on" said Rio Chandler. Liberty Ashton added that she didn’t like the phrase ’It’s too late’ because it "implies we can’t do anything".

"It’s not too late to stop chopping down forests, to stop dumping waste in the sea and to stop taking everything Mother Earth gives for granted", she added.

All those joining the march were asked to sign a code of conduct and organisers were keen to make sure that no-one used their phones in the fuel station or stepped on the flowers on St Thomas’ roundabout.

They halted cars in Monnow Street as they marched to the fuel station where they protested for about 10 minutes.

The protestors then brought traffic to a halt on the bridge and the entrance to Waitrose before finally sitting down in the road at the pedestrian crossing back in Monnow Street.

This however was the the tipping point for some drivers. One exasperated minibus driver asked an organiser to be let through, and the protestors duly stepped to one side. However as other cars began to follow, one exuberant protester stepped in front of a red car who tried follow on.

It was a minor lapse of judgement in an otherwise orderly march.