A SOUTHEND climate change campaigner will stand trial next month after being arrested during Extinction Rebellion protests.

Jon Fuller, 62, a member of Extinction Rebellion and spokesman for South East Essex Friends of the Earth, was arrested in April at Oxford Circus after allegedly breaching an order designed to stop protests.

He denied the charges claiming that “there is no option but to protest to ensure the safety of future generations”.

He stated he could not comment in-depth on the trial, only that he would continue to make a stand and defend himself and the planet.

His impending trial did not put him off further action as he spent time in London during the last fortnight of protests making speeches and supporting the cause.

Another south Essex protestor is Susan Sayers, 73, an Anglican priest and grandmother who has drawn national attention as she donned her clergy collar and taped her mouth shut in Trafalgar Square.

Jon praised Ms Sayers, as well as the “strong Essex representation in London”.

He said: “On Wednesday I helped to organise the protest outside News Corp. As everyone knows, Robert Murdoch and his publications have been one of the great deniers of climate change, so its important this took place and it was one a lot of people could happily support.

“We actually thought we may be arrested. Police had put one of the ‘Section 14s’ in place, meaning if we had been in the street or on the pavement we would have been arrested.

“But unbeknown to us, when we turned up and pitched up, we were actually on News Corp’s private land. We had 700 there and they couldn’t touch us.

Ms Sayers picture, posted on Twitter by Extinction Rebellion, has been liked more than 400 times.

Jon Fuller is due to stand trial on November 14 at City of London Magistrates’ Court.