ROADS were blocked and traffic brought to a standstill as pupils protested against a lack of action on climate change.

About 200 youngsters gathered in North Street, Brighton, at 11am yesterday and sat down in the road as campaigners took it in turns to deliver speeches though a megaphone.

The road was completely blocked for 30 minutes and several buses, which use the road on their usual routes, were stranded.

This is the sixth time this year youngsters in Brighton and Hove have skipped school and taken to the streets to campaign for more action to be taken to fight climate change.

The last march on June 21 saw thousands of protesting pupils march from Churchill Square to The Level chanting and waving banners.

Campaigners said the persistent action of young activists was proving to be successful.

Lauren Sellers marched with the group as a steward and had also attended several marches.

The 22-year-old, who recently finished studying at the University of Sussex, said: “Things like this create the political pressure to have action on climate change and you can see from the response of politicians and the Government.

“When children march on the streets like this, and say that there is an emergency, you can’t dismiss that as a radical fringe group.”

Earlier yesterday Brighton and Hove Buses warned passengers the march could cause disruption to its services.

The march was overseen by several Sussex Police officers and police vans travelled in front and behind the crowd of campaigners.

A spokeswoman said: “We will be working to facilitate this event with the aim of keeping people safe and minimising disruption in the city.

“We are mindful children are taking part in the protest and are continuing to try and engage with the organisers of the event.”

The protests are organised by campaign group Youth Strike 4 Climate Change, who have set up marches across the UK.

A spokesman for the organisation said: “We are choosing to rise up and take direct action where older generations have failed.

“We are already facing devastating and irreversible impacts around the world.

“This is our final chance to fight for our futures, and our ages will not be what stop us.”