A CLIMATE protestor has thanked his supporters for standing by him, after he appeared in court for his part in the environmental demonstrations that closed down parts of London last week.

Tristan Strange, 37, from Rodbourne,is one of more than 70 Extinction Rebellion protestors to have been charged by police in relation to the demonstrations across the capital.

Appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Mr Strange denied breaching the Public Order Act. He was bailed for the trial at Hendon Magistrates’ Court on June 28.

His bail conditions prevent him from returning to Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus.

Following the hearing, Mr Strange vowed to continue protesting. “I’m still welcome back at Marble Arch,” he told the Advertiser. “It’s going to be quieter for me now. I’m going to get involved in the talks and the educational work going on.”

He added his thanks to the half dozen supporters who turned up at court on Tuesday morning: “I’m incredibly grateful.”

For the past week, Extinction Rebellion protestors have closed off major routes in London, including Waterloo Bridge. Yesterday, the group marched on Parliament Square for talks with MPs and peers.

Swedish teen Greta Thunberg, who sparked a wave of school walkouts, addressed politicians at a Westminster event. Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, told her she had been heard and admitted the authorities “have not done nearly enough”. He said: “Suddenly in the past few years it has become inescapable that we have to act.”

More than 1,000 people have been arrested during climate change protests, which started on Monday, April 15. The action has seen Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus blocked and a “die in” at the Natural History Museum. The campaigners say they want the government to declare a climate emergency.

John Ransford, 67, of the Swindon branch of the Extinction Rebellion movement, said of those who had been arrested: “We might think that these people are idiots and doing stupid things, but actually in 10 or 20 years’ time we’ll look back on them like the Suffragists.

They are brave people, going against the state in a peaceful way. The only people they’re harming are themselves.”

He added: “These people realise that, actually, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain by getting the world back on a sustainable path.”