A MAN caused a lengthy queue of traffic by sitting in the middle of a road in Saltaire protesting against the Government's lack of action on climate change this morning.

Angry drivers were backed up for miles on Bradford Road at around 11am due to the man's efforts.

Rod Nichols, 64, was part of the hundreds of people up and down the country staging "protest of one" road blocks.

The stunt, organised by pressure group Extinction Rebellion (XR), sees individuals sitting alone in busy roads wearing signs with messages about their fears for the future.

Mr Nichols' message read, 'I'm terrified only the rich will eat because of the climate crisis'.

The traffic built up from Saltaire right back towards Frizinghall, and on the other side it went back to Bingley.

One driver, who was going towards Skipton, said: "As I got towards him, he was sat in the middle of the road, blocking all the traffic and nothing was getting past. 

"It got a little bit of attention to say the least.

"In London, I have seen people who have been tied to railings, but I have never seen a lone wolf in the middle of the road with a sign around him."

The protest began exactly two years since Parliament declared a climate emergency.

Mr Nicholas, who works for Bradford residential services, said: “I am terrified about the climate crisis that my nieces will face drought, famine and war in their lifetime if we don’t act now.

“Two years ago today the UK Parliament declared an environment and climate emergency.

"Our leaders are still not taking this seriously. It’s time for ordinary people to step up and demand action.”

Police are understood to have dealt with the protest; they have been approached for a comment.

Protests took place in the likes of Nottingham, Birmingham, Oxford, Newcastle and Swansea.

Morgan Trowland, 38, glued himself to London's Tower Bridge, prompting City of London Police to close it to southbound traffic.

Bing Jones, a 68-year-old retired NHS doctor, blocked a road in Sheffield.

Nurse Andrea Muntiu, 36, blocked traffic in her home town of Ipswich.

Saturday's protests coincided with a number of demonstrations against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

The Bill was drafted partly in response to previous disruptive action by XR and also the Black Lives Matter movement.

The proposed legislation would give police in England and Wales more powers to impose conditions on non-violent protests - including those deemed too noisy or a nuisance, with those convicted liable to fines or jail terms.