Scarborough councillor Theresa Norton sits in road and stops traffic as part of Extinction Rebellion protest

Theresa Norton, a Labour member of Scarborough Borough Council who represents Eastfield, sat on the road in St Nicholas Street in a bid to raise awareness of what she described as “the climate and ecological emergency”.

Cllr Norton, 62, said: “This was something that frightened me very much and it was not an easy thing to do.

“The message on my board read ‘I am terrified that ‘business as usual’ will rob our children of their future, because of the climate crisis’.

“The fact is that our Government declared a climate emergency two years ago but, apart from making statements about urgency and setting new target dates, they have done next to nothing in real terms.”

She accused the Government of adopting a ‘business as usual’ policy which has included plans for new airport runways, road-building projects and the HS2 railway link-up.

“It is no wonder that Greta Thunberg and children of the next generation are frightened for the future they will inherit from our Government’s lack of action,” added Cllr Norton.

“It is for their sakes that I took action and I hope that the people of Scarborough will read more about the realities of the situation and urge our Government to do more, much more, to keep us and the next generations safe.”

Saturday also saw similar Extinction Rebellion action taking place elsewhere in the country.

According to the environmental movement, more than 200 people did similar road sit-ins to block roads all around the UK.