Protestors marched in the town centre on Saturday August 29 calling on Bolton Council to move forward with their Climate Emergency Plans.

Extinction Rebellion organised the march, which began at 12pm from Queen's Park and arrived in Victoria Square at 1pm.

Steps leading to the town hall were lined with pairs of children's shoes, representing the risk climate change poses to future lives.

Speakers stood on the steps, calling for action and sharing concerns for the future of the planet.

The protest took place a year after Bolton Council declared a Climate Emergency, committing to 13 goals, including making the Council's activities carbon zero by 2030.

In her speech, one Extinction Rebellion member, who prefers not to be named, said:"I need to let people in Bolton know and tell Bolton Council to act on their commitments without delay.

"I stand beneath the town hall clock and time is passing by. We know what needs to be done,

"The longer it takes to do it, the worse the consequences will be."

Cllr Martin McMulkin, who brought the original climate change motion forward in the council meeting held on August 29 2019, attended the protest.

He said: "These events are essential now. Because of covid, and to give the Council credit as that's not their fault, everything that we did plan to do in the past year has fallen away.

So people coming out and want to see this change and asking questions is essential,

"It's people power, it's not about the politics it's about the planet .

"The aim is to establish what we will do moving forward to get back on track.

"We've set ourselves a deadline and we need to get back to it, we need to engage with the public because the initally stage should have been communicating with the public.

"Extinction Rebellion have met with the chief exec and presented the council with questions in terms of taking this forward.

"I'm hoping we can get back on track with the council. Everyone's focus is very much on covid but this issue isn't going away."

Although coronavirus has overshadowed the climate change discussion recently, one protestor did make the link between the two.

Dr Nick Browne, who resides in Bolton but works in Salford, has become increasingly concerned about the impact of climate change on our health.

He said: "I'm begging to see more of the health impacts of climate change in recent years to the people I see everyday.

"I think we need to start doing something quickly because it is definitely getting worse. Chronic lung disease is becoming more common. Doctors and medical organisations are recognising that this is a problem, and as a member of that profession I want to stand up and make my voice heard.

"I want people in Bolton to know that a variety of groups are involved in this, it's not just minority groups, this is across the board.

"I think it's imperative that we start having action.

"Air pollution is a major factor, but I'm also very concerned about is food poverty, we are going to start seeing difficulty in getting hold of food, especially relying on imports from overseas.

"What I've also seen is Salford Council who I worked with quite closely have been making great strides in trying to achieve this ambition of carbon zero,

"There are other councils across Greater Manchester who are rising to this challenge and what I find disheartening, I live in Bolton and I want to feel like the leaders of my town are also leading the way, I am concerned that they are going to fall behind and Bolton will suffer as a consequence."