LONDON, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Climate protesters set up a road-block outside Cardiff Castle on Monday blocking a major route into the center of the Welsh capital city.
They swooped on the city ahead of the morning commute for thousands of workers heading to their jobs in Cardiff.
Members of the so-called action group Extinction Rebellion have positioned a green boat in the middle of the road, with morning commuters warned by South Wales Police to expect delays and travel disruption. Bus services in the city were also disrupted by the action. Bus operators also warned of serious delays.
In a statement on its social media site, South Wales Police said: "Environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion has today (Monday) begun a protest in Cardiff as part of a five-day national campaign that will see similar protests in Glasgow, Bristol and London."
"We will be doing everything we can to minimize disruption but we appreciate that it only requires a relatively small number of protesters to cause issues in the city center. Motorists are adviser to consider alternative routes."
Extinction Rebellion Wales said in local media interviews the Cardiff protest was aimed at highlighting the need for the devolved Welsh Government to dramatically accelerate its actions in tackling the climate crisis and ecological emergency.
One protester who gave his name as Livvy said they wanted to raise awareness about climate issues.
Police closed a section of Castle Street, one of the city's major roads, from the junction with Queen Street to Westgate Street, setting up diversions.
Extinction Rebellion had earlier earmarked Cardiff as one of five centers for disruption campaigns, alongside of disruption London, Leeds, Bristol and the Scottish city of Glasgow.
Currently magistrates courts in London are in permanent session hearing cases linked to over 1,000 arrests made at similar protests in the British capital.
"We want to achieve some serious changes by the government, we are hoping to raise awareness, get people talking about it," Livvy told reporters on Monday.
"If you weigh it up against the disruption down the line, this is nothing compared to what will happen if we do nothing," he added.
