CLIMATE change activists have urged councillors and world leaders to get their heads out of the sand after staging a beach protest.

Clacton Extinction Rebellion members placed a life-sized human prop on Clacton beach on Tuesday evening before symbolically burying its head.

Alongside ‘Sandy Barnett’, the eco-conscious demonstrators also brandished a large white banner adorned with the words Climate Crisis in red capital letters.

The provocative action was designed to highlight rising sea levels across the globe and demonstrate the attitudes authorities have towards the climate emergency.

It was part of Extinction Rebellion’s Make The Wave campaign, which will see protests from more than 88 coastal communities leading up to the G7 conference in Cornwall tomorrow.

Clacton and Frinton Gazette:

Rosie Dodds, 62, is a Clacton Extinction Rebellion member and charity worker who took part in the seaside demonstration.

She said: “Ordinary people demand greater, immediate action.

“Tendring Council declared an emergency in 2019, but who would know this?

“There has been no publicity letting residents know about the emergency and little action.

“Many areas of Tendring are at risk of flooding from sea level rise and some of the poorest areas of the world are already affected.

“We need local and national governments to take action. at least as rapidly as they did for Covid.

“We do not want to increase anxiety in Clacton, but we do want people and politicians to act now.”

In addition to the stunt Clacton’s climate change activists also gave out information about the climate crisis.

Tim Morris, who took part in the protest, is a life-long resident of Jaywick, which flooded in 1953, killing 35 villagers.

He added: “I am worried about sea level rise but climate change is so much more than that.

“More extremes of weather will result in crop failures and the upheaval that will bring.”

Michael Talbot, Tendring councillor responsible for environment said: “Since declaring the climate emergency we have researched, drawn up and adopted an Action Plan, and we are working to embed climate change issues in everything that we do.

“A key strand of our Climate Change emergency declaration and our Action Plan is community leadership; getting both residents and businesses coming on this journey with us.”